Laryngeal vs oropharyngeal cancer: T2 or not T2

The updated 8th edition of the AJCC TNM staging manual, introduced some important changes in the staging of tumors arising in the head and neck region. Main changes include: the introduction of a separate classification for p16 positive oropharyngeal tumors; the introduction of depth of invasion (DOI) for the staging of oral cavity tumors; changes to the T categories for nasopharyngeal, thyroid and skin cancers; the addition of extra nodal extension to the nodal category for most sub-sites. No updates were proposed for the staging of laryngeal tumors, in any of its subsites. The correct assignment of the clinical and pathological stage plays a key role to appraise the prognosis and plan the correct treatment strategy. In this regard, we recently had to deal with a clinical case which called forth remarks about the 8th edition of the AJCC TNM.