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staging
(stājĀ“ing)
the determination of distinct phases or periods in the course of a disease, the life history of an organism, or any biological
process.
the classification of neoplasms according to the extent of the tumor. See also cancer.
TNM staging
an international standard for the staging of tumors; the systems of the American Joint Committee on Cancer and the International
Union Against Cancer are now identical. Staging is according to three basic components: primary tumor (T), regional nodes
(N), and metastasis (M). Subscripts are used to denote size and degree of involvement; for example, 0 indicates undetectable,
and 1, 2, 3, and 4 a progressive increase in size or involvement. Thus, a tumor might be described as T1N2M0. See also cancer.

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