Staging system for breast cancer:: revisions for the 6th edition of the AJCC Cancer Staging Manual

The purpose of this article is to present the revised American joint Committee on Cancer staging system for breast carcinoma. The changes and additions, as recommended by the Breast Task Force, are based on clinical evidence or are consistent with widespread clinical consensus about the management of breast cancer. Major changes fall into two categories: (1) changes related to the detection and description of microscopic metastatic lesions; and (2) changes related to the location and number of lymph node metastases.