The updated points of TNM classification of urological cancers in the 8th edition of AJCC and UICC

Abstract

The Tumor-Node-Metastasis (TNM) staging system, jointly developed by the American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) and the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), is widely employed in clinical practice and research on patients with cancer. The definitions of TNM classification have recently been changed, improving patient stratification for management and prognosis. As the feature of new editions, biomarkers which are necessary for the stratification of patients are included to adapt for personalized medicine. Although it would be ideal for the AJCC and UICC have identical TNM staging systems, there are some differences between these two publications. In this review, we introduce the significant changes and differences in the eighth edition of the AJCC and UICC TNM staging systems for urologic cancers and summarize the evidence supporting these changes.