For the first time, Chinese scientists have proposed revision suggestions for the current internationally recognized AJCC/UICC eighth edition clinical staging system for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a rare tumor that forms at the back of the nose.

The suggestions are expected to be adopted by the new staging system and guide future global clinical treatment, said Ma Jun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The study result, titled Refining the 8th edition TNM classification for EBV related nasopharyngeal carcinoma, was published in the oncology journal Cancer Cells on Thursday.

The study is based on extensive clinical data analysis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, said Ma at a Friday news conference in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province.

Ma is the deputy president at the Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and the leader of his research team.

The study result is a breakthrough and is of great significance in guiding the staging treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients in the following years, said Ma.