Developed and maintained by the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), the UUIC clinical staging system is the global standard in bladder cancer staging, using the TNM classification to describes the extent of cancer in a patient's body. T describes the size of the tumor and whether it has invaded nearby tissue; N describes regional lymph nodes that are involved; and M describes distant metastasis (spread of cancer from one body part to another). The system gets periodically updated, most recently in 1997.
