Cancer Staging and Grading
Following a diagnosis of cancer, an important next
step is to accurately determine the stage of
the cancer. Staging is a system that describes
the size and extent that the cancer has spread.1
Different stages of cancer may be treated differently.1 That's why, in order
for you to discuss treatment options with your healthcare team, you need
to know the correct stage of your cancer.
It is important to know, however, that some cancers are not staged.1 Talk
with your doctor about your specific case. And be sure to keep track of
your diagnostic results with Tools
for Organizing Your Cancer Information.
TNM Cancer Staging
There are many cancer staging systems,
but TNM Staging is the most common to measure the extent of the spread
of cancer:1
- "T" refers to the size of the tumor.
- "N" refers to the number and location of lymph nodes involved.
- "M" refers to metastasis.
Generally, the lower the cancer stage, the better the treatment prognosis (prediction
of the result).1,2
- Stage 1 —small cancer found only in the organ where it started
- Stage 2 —larger cancer that may or may not have spread to the lymph
nodes
- Stage 3 —larger cancer that is also in the lymph nodes
- Stage 4 —cancer in a different organ from where it started
Grading Cancer
When doctors look at cancer cells under a microscope and compare them with normal cells, this is called grading the cancer.3 Different grading systems are used for various cancers, but generally the more the cells differ in their appearance from normal cells, the higher the grade.
For example, in one very common system of tumor grading, the cells of Grade 1 tumors resemble normal cells, and tend to grow and multiply slowly.
At the other end of the scale, the cells of Grade 4 tumors do not look like normal cells of the same type. High-grade cancers tend to grow more rapidly and spread faster than low-grade tumors.3
If your doctor recommends chemotherapy to treat your cancer, then you'll want to learn more about treating
cancer with chemotherapy.
1. Staging. American Cancer Society website. Updated April 23, 2008.
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/ETO/content/ETO_1_2X_Staging.asp. Accessed May 12, 2010.
2. Staging: questions and answers. National Cancer Institute website.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Detection/staging/. Accessed May 12, 2010.
3. Tumor grade: questions and answers. National Cancer Institute website.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Detection/tumor—grade. Accessed May 12, 2010.
Understanding Cancer –
Chemotherapy Side Effects –
Treating Cancer in Other Ways
Tracking Your Test Results –
Understanding Insurance and Tax Issues
Chemotherapy Resources and Organizations –
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