Depending on the type of cancer, there are several ways to determine its stage. Pathological and clinical staging can both give a physician valuable information about a patient’s condition. Cancer staging is also important if a cancer recurs or progresses. Knowing your stage helps you decide which type of treatment to receive. Here’s what to expect during the process. When you receive a diagnosis, you’ll want to make sure to follow the instructions provided by your doctor.
There are three main types of cancer staging. Stage I describes a tumor that has not spread beyond its original location. Stage II includes tumors that have spread to nearby lymph nodes. Stage III is the most advanced type, where the cancer has spread to nearby organs. Stage IV describes a cancer that has spread throughout the body, and is beyond the area of origin. There are some common misconceptions about cancer staging. Here are the top three.
When dealing with any type of cancer, the best way to understand your cancer stage is to know what your doctor is looking for and why. The TNM staging system is the most common. This system measures the size of a primary tumour, lymph nodes, and distant organs. The tumor size is measured in millimetres and centimetres. The T suffix means the size of the primary tumor, while the N stands for nearby lymph nodes. The larger your tumour, the higher the TNM staging number.
The AJCC eighth edition prognostic stage provides more accurate prognostic information than anatomic stage alone. Cancer registrars will start using this system in January 2018. The AJCC is likely to address the limitations of the current staging system. The current staging system combines T, N, and M categories with tumor grade and ER, PR, and HER2 status. These combinations do not provide a prognostic stage. It will also require frequent updating as new biologic factors become available. Ki-67 is one example of an assay that could be added to the prognostic stage. Additionally, other genomic assays may be added in the future.
A cancer stage is a description of how advanced the tumor is. A tumor has spread beyond the original area. Depending on the stage, it may have spread to nearby organs and lymph nodes. Often, the tumor has spread beyond the original location and cannot be measured. Using the T number is a helpful way to understand the severity of a cancer. Further, the T stage is broken down into subcategories. Lowercase letters indicate subcategories. For example, “m” may be used to indicate multiple tumors.
The AJCC/UICC lung cancer stage classification is relatively unique in the field of lung cancer. It is based on a large international database, extensive analysis, and multiple levels of internal validation. This staging system maintains discrimination over the course of disease, geographic region, and follow-up time. This is essential when treating patients with lung cancer. The authors declare no conflicts of interest and disclose no financial relationships. If a conflict of interest is discovered, the authors assume full responsibility.
