Staging starts when a person is first diagnosed and before any treatment is given.

Two Main Types of Staging

Clinical Staging- Estimation of the extent of cancer based on results of the physical exams (x-rays, CT scan, etc, may also include blood tests for some cancers.)

Pathological Staging(Surgical Stage)

Depends on the results of the clinical staging. Learning of cancer during surgery and how much is in the body. Also sometimes to remove cancer and nearby lymph nodes. More precise to predict treatment and prognosis.

Staging system TNM

Cancer assigned letter or number to describe the tumor, node, and misses

T- Original Tumor informs of its size and the area where it has grown and if it's close to any nearby tissues

TX means the tumor can’t be measure

TO - Primary Cannot be found

This - Pre-Cancer

T1, T2, T3, etc.- As the T number increases so does the size of the tumor or/and the more it has grown into nearby tissues.

N Describes if the Cancer has Spread into a close by lymph nodes.

NX, NO, N1, N2, etc

M Whether cancer has spread too far parts of the body

M0, M1

Stages meaning may differ depending on cancer.

Once T, N, and M have been determined they all give the result for the overall stage of cancer. The stage is given in Roman Numbers. The higher the number the more advanced the cancer is.

The grade measures how abnormal the cancer cells looks under the microscope. A low grade would mean it isn't so different from the normal tissue, therefore, it grows slowly The higher grade means it looks really different and the cancer cell will grow quickly.

Graded and Staged?