Clinical symptoms and comorbidity: significance for the prognostic classification of cancer

Abstract

Widespread use of the TNM system during the past 30 years has unquestionably helped to standardize the classification of cancer and to improve prognostic estimates. Nevertheless, the estimates remain relatively imprecise, impairing the evaluation of treatment effectiveness. A prime scientific challenge in current cancer staging is to incorporate the omitted patient-based variables to produce an improved clinical system of classification.