Advances in the pathologic staging of lung cancer: detection of regional and systemic occult metastases.

Approximately 78% of lung carcinomas would be potentially curable by surgery if they were detected early enough. Thus, the most important factor in predicting outcome and defining therapy is the stage of the disease. This chapter discusses the TNM (primary tumor/nodal involvement/distant metastasis) staging system for lung cancer as well as lymph node and bone marrow micrometastasis status.