Ann Arbor staging criteria

Last reviewed 11/2023

Stage I

• involvement of one lymph node or one extranodal organ or site (IE)

Stage II

• involvement of two or more lymph node regions on the same side of the diaphragm, or localised involvement of an extranodal site or organ (IIE) and one or more lymph node regions on the same side of the diaphragm

Stage III

• involvement of lymph node regions on both sides of the diaphragm, which might be accompanied by localised involvement of an extranodal organ or site (IIIE) or spleen (IIIS) or both (IIISE); the spleen is regarded as nodal

Stage IV

• diff use or disseminated involvement of one or more distant extranodal organs with or without associated lymph node involvement

Modifiers
A - absence of B symptoms
B - temperature >38°C, night sweats, and weight loss of greater than 10% of bodyweight in the
      6 months preceding admission are defined as systemic symptoms

Localised extralymphatic lesions with or without associated lymph node involvement are termed 'E' (extranodal) lesions.

Reference:

• (1) Shankland KR, Armitage JO, Hancock BW. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Lancet. 2012;380(9844):848-57