. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2016 Dec 1.

Published in final edited form as: Biochim Biophys Acta. 2015 Aug 19;1856(2):189–210. doi: 10.1016/j.bbcan.2015.08.002

Table 2.

TNM stage grouping for NSCLC. TNM stand for the size and location of the Tumor, the location of cancer in the lymph Nodes and where the cancer has spread (Metastases).

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T = Primary tumor: T1a (Tumor size ≤2 cm), T1b (>2–3 cm): T2a (>3–5 cm), T2b (>5–7 cm); T3 (>7 cm) and/or (Multiple tumor nodules in the same lobe); T4 (Multiple tumor nodules (of any size) in the same lung but a different lobe).

N0 = No regional lymph node metastasis; N1 = Metastasis in ipsilateral peribronchial and/or ipsilateral hilar lymph nodes and intrapulmonary nodes, including involvement by direct extension; N2 = Metastasis in ipsilateral mediastinal and/or subcarinal lymph node(s); N3 = Metastasis in contralateral mediastinal, contralateral hilar, ipsilateral or contralateral scalene, or supraclavicular lymph node(s).

M = Distant metastasis: M1a (Malignant pleural or pericardial effusions and/or Separate tumor nodules in the contralateral lung); M2b (Distant metastasis in extrathoracic organs).