TNM is one of the systems used to describe the stage of a cancer (i.e., how far the cancer has spread in the body).
According to the TNM system of staging, letters or numbers that follow the letters, T, N, and M describe the following features of the cancer:
• T describes the size of the tumor
• N describes how far the cancer has spread to adjacent lymph nodes
• M describes whether the cancer has spread (i.e., metastasized) to distant organs of the body
In some variations of TNM staging, the descriptions of TNM are grouped into stages and labeled with Roman numerals signifying the stage of the cancer. Usually, a lower number means that the cancer has spread less far, whereas a higher number means that the cancer has spread farther in the body. |