ABSTRACT
TNM staging has been very much fundamental in designing and shaping prognostication oral oncology over a few decades. It has been the most important, standard and most widely accepted prognostic classification across the globe. With the improved understanding of molecular biology and cancer biology, the relevance of the conventional anatomic-based TNM staging system has been widely challenged. Although with the advent of newer prognostic variables, with their later inclusion in the staging system, our potential to change the TNM staging system has been influenced by the necessity to keep it user-friendly and simple. That is the major hallmark of the TNM system that accurately incorporates all prognostic factors that might influence the outcomes. This chapter highlights about the importance of TNM staging system and its classifications that is the main objective of this book.
