[Scoring systems for clinical staging of peritoneal carcinomatosis. A critical analysis]

For peritoneal carcinomatosis, several different classification and scoring systems for clinical staging have been proposed and used by the different centers worldwide engaged in treating this clinical entity. Of highest clinical relevance are the classifications assessing tumor distribution and size and those describing the degree of surgical cytoreduction. Allocation of patients to different stages is based on clinical intraoperative evaluation and therefore is subjective and observer-dependent. The various classification systems are presented and discussed regarding applicability, exactness, and their value as either selection criterion or prognostic instrument.