Table 1.
Current TNM staging of esophageal cancer.
| TNM classification | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| T | |||
| Tis | Carcinoma in situ | ||
| T1 | Tumor invading lamina propria, muscularis mucosae, or submucosa | ||
| T2 | Tumor invading muscularis propria | ||
| T3 | Tumor invading periesophageal tissue | ||
| T4 | Tumor invading adjacent structures | ||
| N | |||
| N0 | No regional lymph node metastases | ||
| N1 | Regional lymph node metastases | ||
| M | |||
| M0 | No distant metastases | ||
| M1a | Upper thoracic tumors metastatic to cervical nodes | ||
| Lower thoracic tumors metastatic to celiac nodes | |||
| M1b | Other nonregional lymph node metastases or distant metastases | ||
| Stage groupings | |||
| Stage 0 | Tis | N0 | M0 |
| Stage I | T1 | N0 | M0 |
| Stage IIA | T2 | N0 | M0 |
| T3 | N0 | M0 | |
| Stage IIB | T1 | N1 | M0 |
| T2 | N1 | M0 | |
| Stage III | T3 | N1 | M0 |
| T4 | N0-1 | M0 | |
| Stage IVA | T1-4 | N0-1 | M1a |
| Stage IVB | T1-4 | N0-1 | M1b |