Staging for Head and Neck Cancer: Purpose, Process and Progress.

With advancing knowledge and new data available, periodic revisions in the TNM staging system is essential. In addition, new disease entities entering in the spectrum of neoplastic diseases demand that a staging system be developed to facilitate their treatment algorithms and outcomes. The most recent revisions in the AJCC/UICC staging system were published in the eighth edition of the AJCC staging manual. This presentation gives a historical background on the AJCC/UICC staging process and highlights major changes introduced in the eighth edition for cancers of the head and neck.