AJCC Cancer Staging Manual 7th ed

  Cancer staging plays a pivotal role in the battle on cancer. It forms the basis for understanding the changes in population cancer incidence, extent of disease at initial presentation, and the overall impact of improvements in cancer treatment. Staging forms the base for defining groups for inclusion in clinical trials. Most importantly, staging provides those with cancer and their physicians the critical benchmark for defining prognosis and the likelihood of overcoming the cancer and for determining the best treatment approach for their cases