Change in Eyelid Carcinoma T Category With Use of the 8th Versus 7th Edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer: Cancer Staging Manual

Purpose: To evaluate the frequency and nature of changes in T category when eyelid carcinomas are staged using the criteria in the 8th edition instead of the 7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging manual. Methods: Following Institutional Review Board approval, a retrospective review was conducted for all consecutive patients with the diagnosis of eyelid carcinoma treated by the senior author from January 2012 through December 2016. After a review of the clinical and pathologic data, each patient's disease was staged using both the 7th-edition and 8th-edition American Joint Committee on Cancer criteria for eyelid carcinomas. Changes in T categories between the 2 staging systems were examined. Results: The review initially identified 167 patients with the diagnosis of eyelid carcinoma. Four patients were excluded because of incomplete or unclear data. The remaining 163 patients included 78 men and 85 women aged 21 to 97 years (median, 68 years). Eighty-two patients had basal cell carcinoma; 35, squamous cell carcinoma; 32, sebaceous carcinoma; 6, mucinous eccrine carcinoma; 3, Merkel cell carcinoma; 3, adenocarcinomas; and 2, adnexal carcinoma. The most common T category according to the 7th-edition criteria was T2a; the most common T category according to the 8th-edition criteria was T1b. Of the 163 patients, 64 (39%) had a lower T category with the 8th-edition than with the 7th-edition criteria, 59 (36%) had a higher T category, and 40 (25%) had the same T category. Conclusions: Application of the 8th-edition American Joint Committee on Cancer criteria for eyelid carcinoma changed the T category in 75% of patients. In general, the new 8th-edition American Joint Committee on Cancer tumor, node, metastasis (TNM) designations allow for a more objective and consistent designation of the T category. Accepted for publication March 25, 2018. The authors have no financial or conflicts of interest to disclose. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Bita Esmaeli, M.D., F.A.C.S., Orbital Oncology and Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery, Department of Plastic Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd, Unit 1488, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: besmaeli@mdanderson.org © 2018 by The American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Inc., All rights reserved.