Abstract
In order to assess the accuracy and limitations of clinical and surgical TNM classification in lung cancer, we compared clinical and surgical with pathological TNM classifications in 48 cases. T-factor was diagnosed the most accurately whereas the N-factor was the least accurate.
The estimation of extrapulmonary invasion was most difficult in terms of the evaluation of T-factor. In the classification of N-factor it was recognized that evaluation of the size of lymph nodes either on chest X-ray or during surgery did not yield satisfactory results.
The rate of adequate diagnosis of M-factor was unexpectedly low because of microscopic lung metastasis.
