{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T19:27:09Z","timestamp":1786562829842,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,18]],"date-time":"2026-04-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776470400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,18]],"date-time":"2026-04-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776470400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Intl Journal of Cancer"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>\n                    Accurate cancer staging is essential for cancer research and treatment evaluation; however, real\u2010world data (RWD) often include incomplete or inconsistent UICC classifications. We present the development, optimization, demonstration, and release of the Munich UICC Staging Tool (MUST), an open\u2010source R script that automates UICC staging based on TNM classifications and tumor characteristics, improving data completeness and consistency. MUST incorporates official UICC staging rules (6th\u20138th editions). A key feature is the application of RWD\u2010specific rules to handle missing values and incomplete information. The tool is transparent, highly customizable, and adaptable to future TNM versions and diverse applications. MUST was validated using anonymized clinical tumor registry data from two Munich university hospitals (analyzed independently,\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u2009&gt;\u2009100,000), focusing on pancreatic and stomach cancers. Compared to documented UICC stages, MUST increased staging completeness from 60% to 72% in Clinic\u20101 and from 20% to 74% in Clinc\u20102. Agreement rates between documented and MUST\u2010generated UICC stages were 90% in Clinic\u20101 and 95% in Clinic\u20102. To assess reliability, a Confidence Level metric summarizes the proportion of original versus additional rules applied. 70% of MUST\u2010derived stages in Clinic\u20101 and 48% in Clinic\u20102 were classified as \u201cAssured,\u201d with the remaining cases relying on RWD\u2010specific rules. The results demonstrate that RWD\u2010specific rules substantially improve completeness, while the differences between clinics highlight variations in documentation and coding practices. MUST offers a reliable solution for UICC staging, addressing documentation gaps and improving data quality. Its adaptability makes it valuable for clinical documentation, registries, and large\u2010scale oncology studies.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/ijc.70488","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,18]],"date-time":"2026-04-18T09:56:04Z","timestamp":1776506164000},"page":"757-767","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Development and Release of the Munich\n                    <scp>UICC<\/scp>\n                    Staging Tool (\n                    <scp>MUST<\/scp>\n                    ): Advancing\n                    <scp>UICC<\/scp>\n                    Staging in Real\u2010World Data With Insights From Pancreatic and Stomach Cancer"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"159","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-1262-5290","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Brigitte","family":"K\u00fchnel","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Comprehensive Cancer Center 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II TUM University Hospital, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich  Munich Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2972-9802","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dirk","family":"Wilhelm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery TUM University Hospital, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich  Munich Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Helmut","family":"Friess","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery TUM University Hospital, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich  Munich Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6070-0226","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marcus","family":"Feith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery TUM University Hospital, Klinikum rechts der Isar, TUM School of Medicine and Health, Technical University of Munich  Munich Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0441-1953","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ursula","family":"Ehmer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bavarian Cancer Research Center (BZKF)  Munich Germany"},{"name":"TUM School of Medicine and Health\u2014Clinical Department of Internal Medicine II TUM University Hospital, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich  Munich Germany"},{"name":"German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Munich  Munich Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4435-2609","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Florian","family":"Bassermann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bavarian Cancer Research Center (BZKF)  Munich Germany"},{"name":"German Cancer Consortium 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