Jessica S. Donington, MD of NYU Langone Health discusses IASLC lung cancer staging project, important changes and complexities. There are big changes involved, including further delineation of the T-stage by tumor size with cut-offs at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 cm. More tumor size does matter in terms of the prognosis, and fortunately, the end stage didnt change at all. However, there are three additional M-stages: M1a (Interthoracic Metastatic Spread); M1b (Oligo Metastatic Spread) and M1c (Multiple Sites). Dr. Donington believes that some of these changes will translate into different treatment options.
As for the complexities in the staging, there are more subsets and smaller differentiation between stages to better predict prognosis. However, in this way, doctors can treat smaller stage subgroup in a more refined manner and they can give more accurate prognosis.