Comparison of the addition of T and N integer scores with TNM stage groups in head and neck cancer

The 1987 TNM classification system modified T and N definitions for squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. It did not change stage groupings (I through IV). The primary purpose of clinical staging is to divide patients into prognostically meaningful groups. The 1987 changes to the TNM T and N descriptions may not have removed the previously established heterogeneity within stage groups III and IV which existed before 1987. The …