If a cancer is localized to one area of the body, then surgery or radiotherapy could be enough to remove it completely. If a cancer has spread, chemotherapy, hormone therapy or biological therapies that circulate throughout the bloodstream are required. How stages are determined. What is cancer staging? Staging helps doctors to determine the proper treatments and identify appropriate clinical trials. When should cancer staging start?
The first step is diagnosing the cancer. It might be identified by screening tests like colonoscopies and Pap tests, or when the patient finds an abnormality, such as a breast lump, from a self-exam. Doctors perform various tests to stage a cancer, such as imaging studies like X-rays and CT scans or taking a biopsy. The test results enable the doctor to accurately stage the cancer and formulate the best treatment plan for the patient.
Why do we stage cancers? Staging also helps identify the best treatment approach to take. For example, a stage 1 colorectal cancer is usually treated differently from stage 3 or stage 4 colorectal cancer. Staging also identifies which patients can be included in clinical trials that are usually open only to people with stage 4 cancer. What is the TNM staging system? It can describe cancer in great detail.
Doctors use it to describe most types of cancer. In the TNM system:. The T describes the size and extent of the main tumor and any spread of cancer into nearby tissue.
The N describes the spread of cancer to nearby lymph nodes. Cervical screening. Smoking Cessation Framework. Cancer screening toolkit. Noticing symptoms. Seeing a GP. Having tests. Seeing specialists. Understanding your diagnosis.
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Typically, a cancer is staged when it is first diagnosed, before any treatment is given. But in some cases, it is staged again after treatment has started. The clinical stage is an estimate of the extent of the cancer based on results of physical exams, imaging tests x-rays, CT scans, etc.
For some cancers, the results of other tests, such as blood tests, are also used in clinical staging. The clinical stage is often a key part of deciding the best treatment options. For example, the survival rates for most types of cancer are based mainly on the stage at the time of diagnosis see below. If surgery to remove the cancer is the first treatment, doctors can also determine the pathological stage also called the surgical stage.
The pathological stage relies on the results of the exams and tests done before the surgery, as well as what is learned about the cancer during surgery. Sometimes, the pathological stage is different from the clinical stage for instance, if the surgery shows the cancer has spread more than was seen on imaging tests. The pathological stage gives more precise information, which can be used to help determine what other treatments might be needed, as well as to help predict treatment response and outcomes prognosis.
For some cancers, some treatment other than surgery such as chemo, targeted drug therapy, or radiation might be done first. Or it can be done after surgery the same way as pathological staging , which might give more precise information.
Staging might also be done again at some point if the cancer comes back recurs or progresses grows or spreads without ever having gone away completely. This information can be used to help guide decisions about further treatment. But, for many cancers, the TNM combinations are grouped into five less-detailed stages. When talking about your cancer, your doctor or nurse may describe it as one of these stages:. Another staging system that is used for all types of cancer groups the cancer into one of five main categories.
This staging system is more often used by cancer registries than by doctors. But, you may still hear your doctor or nurse describe your cancer in one of the following ways:. Menu Contact Dictionary Search. Understanding Cancer. What Is Cancer? Cancer Statistics. Cancer Disparities.
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