The gold standard in cancer staging now as Web tool

Springer is launching the AJCC e-Staging Tool, a web-based application which will improve the way cancer is staged. Designed to meet the needs of the entire multidisciplinary team in any facility that deals with cancer, the AJCC e-Staging Tool makes the process quicker, more efficient and more accurate. The content draws from the highly successful AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, 7th edition, published by Springer in 2010.

The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Cancer Staging System is the preeminent paradigm used throughout the world to diagnose cancer and determine the extent of disease. The AJCC Cancer Staging Manual brings together the relevant, evidence-based criteria for the staging of cancer for 57 anatomic primary sites. Solving the problems that paper formats sometimes present, the AJCC e-Staging Tool's simple workflow interface facilitates physician and cancer registrar communication at any point in the patient work-up.

Users supply the appropriate parameters of tumor, node and metastasis along with relevant predictive or prognostic information to derive the patient's stage. The forms may be shared among members of the patient management team and saved in tandem with electronic and print patient records.

A subscription to the AJCC e-Staging Tool includes access to a comprehensive and interactive guide to the general rules of cancer staging and specific classifications for T, N, and M. The tool provides an easy-to-use staging calculator and electronic staging form for inclusion in patient clinical records and for retrospective staging of patients for public health reporting purposes.

The AJCC Cancer Staging Manual, Handbook, Atlas, and e-Staging Tool, published by Springer, are prepared by the American Joint Committee on Cancer with the support of the American Cancer Society, the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the International Union Against Cancer. These organizations work with the AJCC in the promotion of staging at the time of diagnosis in order to achieve better patient outcomes.