{"entity":{"id":"mediastinal-lymph-node-stations","kind":"term","name":"Mediastinal lymph node stations","aka":["lymph node stations","nodal stations","IASLC nodal map","station 7","subcarinal node","N1 N2 N3 lung"],"tldr":"The lymph nodes in the chest are numbered by position on an agreed map, so that a scan, a needle biopsy and an operation in different hospitals all mean the same thing. Which numbered stations contain cancer decides the N category and therefore whether surgery is on the table.","summary":"The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's nodal map numbers the lymph node stations of the chest and groups them: N1 nodes are ipsilateral hilar and intrapulmonary, N2 nodes are ipsilateral mediastinal and subcarinal (station 7), and N3 nodes are contralateral mediastinal or hilar, or supraclavicular on either side. The map exists so that a radiologist's report, an endoscopist's sampling and a surgeon's dissection describe the same anatomy, and so that trials from different countries can be compared. It became more consequential in the ninth edition of TNM, in force since 1 January 2025, which split N2 into N2a, involvement of a single ipsilateral mediastinal or subcarinal station, and N2b, involvement of multiple ipsilateral mediastinal stations with or without the subcarinal station: the distinction is between counts of stations, so the stage now depends on sampling each suspicious station rather than proving one node positive. NICE NG122 asks for a systematic approach, sampling any node suspicious on CT, PET or ultrasound, using endobronchial ultrasound-guided needle aspiration, endoscopic ultrasound-guided needle aspiration, or both, and holding surgical mediastinal staging for a negative result with continuing high suspicion.","asOf":"2026-09-25","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediastinal_lymph_node","links":[{"label":"Rami-Porta, J Thorac Oncol 2024: IASLC lung cancer staging project, proposals for revision of the TNM stage groups in the forthcoming ninth edition (76,518 patients analysed of 124,581 registered)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtho.2024.02.011"},{"label":"NICE NG122: lung cancer, diagnosis and staging (published 28 March 2019, last updated 8 March 2024)","url":"https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng122/chapter/Diagnosis-and-staging"},{"label":"Br J Radiol 2025: something old something new, introduction to the ninth edition TNM classification of lung cancer (effective 1 January 2025)","url":"https://doi.org/10.1093/bjr/tqaf161"}],"tags":["lung"],"related":[],"cancers":["nsclc","sclc","lung-cancer","lung-lcnec"],"sections":[],"technologies":["pet","ct","bronchoscopy"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":["ebus-tbna","tnm-9-lung-cancer","resectability-lung-cancer","mediastinum","tnm-staging"],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"category":"Anatomy"},"route":"/terms/mediastinal-lymph-node-stations/","neighbours":{"cancer":[{"id":"lung-lcnec","kind":"cancer","name":"Large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma of the lung","route":"/cancers/lung-lcnec/"},{"id":"lung-cancer","kind":"cancer","name":"Lung cancer (all types)","route":"/cancers/lung-cancer/"},{"id":"nsclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Non-small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/nsclc/"},{"id":"sclc","kind":"cancer","name":"Small-cell lung cancer","route":"/cancers/sclc/"}],"technology":[{"id":"ct","kind":"technology","name":"CT (computed tomography)","route":"/technologies/ct/"},{"id":"pet","kind":"technology","name":"PET (positron emission tomography)","route":"/technologies/pet/"}],"term":[{"id":"bronchoscopy","kind":"term","name":"Bronchoscopy (EBUS, robotic navigation)","route":"/terms/bronchoscopy/"},{"id":"ebus-tbna","kind":"term","name":"Endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS-TBNA)","route":"/terms/ebus-tbna/"},{"id":"mediastinum","kind":"term","name":"Mediastinum","route":"/terms/mediastinum/"},{"id":"resectability-lung-cancer","kind":"term","name":"Resectability in lung cancer","route":"/terms/resectability-lung-cancer/"},{"id":"sublobar-resection","kind":"term","name":"Sublobar resection (segmentectomy and wedge)","route":"/terms/sublobar-resection/"},{"id":"superior-vena-cava-obstruction","kind":"term","name":"Superior vena cava obstruction","route":"/terms/superior-vena-cava-obstruction/"},{"id":"tnm-9-lung-cancer","kind":"term","name":"TNM 9: what changed in lung cancer staging","route":"/terms/tnm-9-lung-cancer/"},{"id":"tnm-staging","kind":"term","name":"TNM staging","route":"/terms/tnm-staging/"}]}}