Impact of primary tumor volume and location on the prognosis of patients with locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Cancer Communications

Table 2 Tumor properties of NPC used to define the proposed new staging system

2009 AJCC staging system	Proposed new staging system
T: Tumor in the nasopharynx	T*: Tumor in the nasopharynx
T1: Tumor confined to the nasopharynx, nasal cavity, or oropharynx	T1*: As per AJCC T1 and with tumor volume ≤38 cm³
T2: Tumor with parapharyngeal extension	T2*: As per AJCC T2 and/or T3, and with tumor volume ≤38 cm³
T3: Tumor that invades bony structures and/or the paranasal sinuses	T3*: As per AJCC T4 and/or all tumors with a volume >38 cm³
T4: Tumor with intracranial extension and/or involvement of the cranial nerve, infratemporal fossa, hypopharynx, or orbit	T3*: As per AJCC T4 and/or all tumors with a volume >38 cm³

*Used to distinguish the tumor stage in the proposed new system from that in the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system