A patient with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma has cervical and mediastinal node involvement plus splenic involvement, with no distant organ disease. The treatment plan needs a stage recorded under the current PET-CT-based consensus classification that revised the original Ann Arbor system. Which staging system applies to this lymphoma case, and what does its classification describe?
Select an answer to reveal the explanation.
Short Explanation
For this lymphoma, you’ll use the Lugano classification, which builds on Ann Arbor. Think of it as a map of the disease: it describes how far lymphoma extends and where it is found, including nodal and extranodal sites.
Full Explanation
The Lugano classification is the appropriate contemporary framework for recording lymphoma stage. Based on Ann Arbor, it describes the anatomical extent and distribution of disease, including nodal regions and extranodal involvement; cervical and mediastinal nodes with splenic disease are recorded as lymphoma involvement. The Ann Arbor system is the foundational lymphoma staging framework and captures much of the same anatomical information, but it is the system that Lugano revised, so it is not the current PET-CT-based classification requested here. The International Prognostic Index combines stage, age, LDH, performance status, and extranodal sites to estimate DLBCL risk; it is a prognostic tool, not a classification of anatomical disease distribution. The Deauville five-point scale grades FDG-PET uptake against reference tissues to characterize treatment response; it does not assign disease stage. Exam caveat: Lugano retains Ann Arbor stage labels, so the terms are related but are not interchangeable when a question asks for the current classification. Practical check: confirm that the staging record reflects imaging findings, identifies involved nodal and extranodal sites, and distinguishes splenic involvement from distant organ disease.