CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Vol 12, 194-199, Copyright
© 1962 by American Cancer Society
Study of The Joint Committee Recommendations for Clinical Staging of Cancer of the Breast
Calvin Zippin Sc.D.1,
David A. Wood M.D.1, and
Diana Lum B.S.1
1 The General Tumor Registry of the Cancer Research Institute, University of California Medical Center, San Francisco.
Cancer staging systems of the Joint Committee and the International Union Against Cancer are compared.
The rules for the two systems differed primarily in regard to eligibility for staging, the relationship between stage and tumor size, and supraclavicular lymph node involvement. Histologic confirmation is required for staging under the Joint Committee system but not under the International Union system. The Joint Committee stage assignment is independent of tumor size, whereas the International Union system assigns a different stage according to whether the tumor is less than or greater than 5 cm. in diameter. Supraclavicular node involvement is categorized as Stage III under the International Union system and Stage IV under the Joint Committee system.
The survival curves of the various stage groups did not present clear evidence (based on a small number 0 cases) to indicate that cases with tumor greater than 5 cm. in diameter (and with no evidence of regional or distant involvement) should be classified other than in Stage I, which agrees with the Joint Committee rules.
Cases with supraclavicular lymph node involvement had prognosis similar to that of cases in Stage III according to either the Joint Committee or the International Union systems. [SEE TABLE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, IN SOURCE PDF.]
