The new staging of lung cancer

Lung cancer is the most common fatal malignancy in men and women worldwide. The radiologist is a key member of a team of physicians dedicated to diagnosing and staging this important disease. Staging is a quantitative assessment of malignant disease that allows a logical grouping of patients with similar extent of disease for prognostic, therapeutic, and analytic purposes. Recent changes in surgical and radiation oncologic management of lung cancer have necessitated a revamping of the American Joint Committee on Cancer system. This system accurately reflects survival expectations with current treatment options and has been validated worldwide.