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Following a
diagnosis of cancer, an important next step is to accurately
determine the stage of the cancer. Staging is a system that
describes how far the cancer has spread.
Different stages of cancer may
be treated differently. That's why, in order for you to discuss
treatment options with your health care team, you need to know
the correct stage of your cancer.
It is important to know,
however, that some cancers are not staged. 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. |
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TNM
Staging |
Grading
the Aggressiveness of Cancer |
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There
are many staging systems but TNM Staging is the most common to
measure the extent of the spread of cancer:
|
T |
"T"
refers to the size of the tumor. |
| N |
"N"
refers to the number of lymph nodes involved. |
| M |
"M"
refers to metastasis. |
STAGES:
Generally the
lower the stage, the better the treatment prognosis
(prediction of the result):
| 0 |
Precancer |
| 1 |
Small
cancer found only in the organ where it
started |
| 2 |
Larger
cancer that may or may not have spread to the
lymph nodes |
| 3 |
Larger
cancer that is also in the lymph nodes |
| 4 |
Cancer
in a different organ from where it started |
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| *Example:
T1N0M0 |
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Grading is the
system that describes the aggressiveness of cancer cells. When
doctors look at cancer cells under the microscope, they compare
them with normal cells. The more cancer cells differ from normal
cells in appearance, the higher the grade. The American Joint
Commission on Cancer (AJCC) recommends the following grading
system:
| GX |
Grade
cannot be assessed |
| G1 |
Well-differentiated
- the cancer cells look fairly normal |
| G2 |
Moderately
differentiated - the cells are less normal in appearance
but still have some recognizable structures |
| G3 |
Poorly
differentiated - the cells have a pattern very different
from normal cells |
| G4 |
Undifferentiated
- the cells are in a completely unrecognizable pattern |
Courtesy of: Mayo Clinic |
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