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Head and Neck Cancer Staging and Prognosis: Perspectives of the UICC and the AJCC

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Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

The prognosis of head and neck cancer embodies numerous dimensions of outcome governed by a large array of factors within the patient and the tumor. These can be influenced by external factors that include access to an adequate standard of treatment for these tumors. For many outcomes, especially the key end-points of organ preservation, loco-regional control, occurrence of distant metastases, and survival, anatomic extent of disease remains one of the most powerful prognostic factors. This is embodied in the tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification which has provided a very effective enabling tool to facilitate many elements of cancer control. Traditionally, its contribution has been a ­codified classification and language to describe anatomic stage of disease for use in the clinic, determining eligibility and stratification for clinical trials and treatment protocols, and for comparison and surveillance of treatment results among centers and jurisdictions. More recently, a focus on nonanatomic factors has become very important, partly because it is recognized that traditional extent of disease does not embrace all dimensions of prognosis. In particular, this relates to the quest to understand the biological dimensions of cancer that are needed to achieve more personalized and/or biologically driven therapies. Increasingly, there is a need in head and neck cancer to exploit new biological discoveries to permit modification of treatment and interventions in the clinic for this heterogeneous group of tumors. Because of this, the TNM has been criticized due to a perception that it has not been adapted sufficiently to modern needs despite its worldwide adoption. This may stem from the fact that there is no alternative uniform functional framework available to classify nonanatomical predictive and prognostic factors. There seems to be a tendency to regard TNM as the optimal receptacle for these factors due to its uniform appeal and success. As the field evolves, both anatomic disease extent and other factors, especially those addressing biological behavior of disease, need to be ­studied in their component domains as well as in combination using an agreed enabling taxonomy. An important strategy is to move toward constructing prognostic models, likely using prognostic nomograms, which will not only include the TNM staging information, but will also include other parameters of prognosis including comorbidities and biochemical or genetic markers. In addition, experts in one area (e.g., translational science or clinical trials methodology perhaps) who may rely on TNM may not always consider that the classification provides very different needs for others (e.g., health services research or screening and cancer control initiatives, etc.) and vice versa. Ignoring or dismissing one ­dimension of prognosis compared to another will not be fruitful and the true contribution of each will remain ­unappreciated, and the goals of the prognostic factor effort in head and neck cancer may be left unfulfilled.

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O’Sullivan, B., Shah, J.P. (2011). Head and Neck Cancer Staging and Prognosis: Perspectives of the UICC and the AJCC. In: Bernier, J. (eds) Head and Neck Cancer. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9464-6_8

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