Evreleme

Evreleme is the Turkish term for staging in medical practice, most commonly used in oncology to describe the process of determining the extent and spread of a disease within the body. It principally focuses on cancers, but the concept can apply to other diseases where the level of progression affects treatment choices and prognosis.

The most widely used framework for evreleme in cancer is the TNM classification, which assesses three components: T for the size and extent of the primary tumor, N for regional lymph node involvement, and M for distant metastasis. Staging typically combines these into a stage group (for example, stages I through IV) that provides a concise summary of disease burden. International guidelines published by organizations such as the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) underpin these classifications. Evreleme can be clinical (cTNM), based on physical examination and imaging, or pathological (pTNM), based on examination of surgically removed tissue.

Other cancers use organ-specific or scheme-specific staging systems in addition to TNM, such as the FIGO system for certain gynecologic cancers. The purpose of evreleme is to inform prognosis, guide treatment planning (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapies), determine eligibility for trials, and facilitate consistent communication among healthcare professionals and patients. Staging is typically performed before treatment and may be reassessed after neoadjuvant therapy or during follow-up to evaluate response or progression.