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Definition

Extent of regional lymph node metastasis at the time of diagnosis of the primary cancer, as represented by a code.

Components

Data Element (this item)

Representation

This representation is based on the value domain for this data element, more information is available at " N stage (UICC TNM Classification of Malignant Tumours 5th ed) code XX ".
Data Type String
Format XX
Maximum character length 2
Values
Value Meaning Start Date End Date
Supplementary Values 88 Not applicable

Comments

Guide for use:

Choose the lower (less advanced) N category when there is any uncertainty.

Comments:

Cancer prognosis and survival can be related to the extent of the disease at diagnosis. Survival rates are generally higher if the disease is localised to the organ of origin compared with cases in which the tumour has spread beyond the primary site.

Staging systems seek to classify patients having a similar prognosis into groups or stages. TNM staging is an internationally agreed staging classification system based on the anatomical site of the primary tumour and its extent of spread. The T component refers to the size of the tumour and whether or not it has spread to surrounding tissues. The N component describes the presence or absence of tumour in regional lymph nodes. The M component refers to the presence or absence of tumour at sites distant from the primary site.

TNM staging applies to solid tumours excluding brain tumours.

References

Commission on Cancer, Standards of the Commission on Cancer Registry Operations and Data Standards (ROADS) Volume II (1998).


This content Based on Australian Institute of Health and Welfare material. Attribution provided as required under the AIHW CC-BY licence.

Related content

Relation Count
Input in Derivations 0
Output in Derivations 0
Inclusion in Data Set Specifications 3
Inclusion in Data Distributions 0
As a numerator in an Indicator 0
As a denominator in an Indicator 0
As a disaggregation in an Indicator 0