The stage of a cancer describes the size of a tumour and how far it has spread from where it originated. The grade describes the appearance of the cancerous cells. If you're diagnosed with cancer, you may have more tests to help determine how far it has progressed.
To learn the stage of your disease, your doctor may order x-rays, lab tests, and other tests or procedures. A cancer is always referred to by the stage it was given at diagnosis, even if it gets worse or spreads. New information about how a cancer has changed over time is added to the original stage.
Even if healthcare providers re-stage the cancer diagnosis, or it recurs, they keep the first staging diagnosis. 3A: The tumor is smaller than 5 cm but has spread to between 4 to 9 nodes. The tumor is larger than 5 cm and has spread to 1 to 9 nodes.
Stage IA tumors are 3 centimeters (cm) or less in size. Stage IA tumors may be further divided into IA1, IA2, or IA3 based on the size of the tumor. Stage IB tumors are more than 3 cm but 4 cm or less in size.
In stage 2 breast cancer, the tumor measures between 2 cm and 5 cm, or the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm on the same side as the breast cancer.
stage 3 – the cancer is larger and may have spread to the surrounding tissues and/or the lymph nodes (or "glands", part of the immune system) stage 4 – the cancer has spread from where it started to at least 1 other body organ, also known as "secondary" or "metastatic" cancer.
T1a tumors are over 1 mm and no more than 5 mm in diameter. T1b tumors are over 5 mm and no more than 10 mm in diameter. T1c tumors are greater than 10 millimeters and no more than 20 millimeters. The tumor is larger than 20 millimeters (2 centimeters) and no more than 50 millimeters (5 centimeters).
Stage 1A means that the cancer is 2 centimetres (cm) or smaller and has not spread outside the breast.
Doctors assign the stage of the cancer by combining the T, N, and M classifications (see above). Stage I: The tumor is 7 cm or smaller and is only located in the kidney. It has not spread to the lymph nodes or distant organs (T1, N0, M0). Stage II: The tumor is larger than 7 cm and is only located in the kidney.
Most metastases, however, occur within 10 years after removal of the primary tumor. Approximately 75% of the afflicted patients die from their disease and 25% are “cured” by surgery (the word “cure” here denotes patient survival after five years, which is not a true cure).
Which Type of Cancer Spreads the Fastest? The fastest-moving cancers are pancreatic, brain, esophageal, liver, and skin. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most dangerous types of cancer because it's fast-moving and there's no method of early detection.
First-line treatment for stage 3 melanoma tends to be surgery. Since stage 3 melanoma involves cancer spreading into the lymph nodes, surgery removes the primary tumor itself, any “in-transit” tumors under the skin and the affected lymph nodes.
Symptoms of Metastatic Cancer
pain and fractures, when cancer has spread to the bone. headache, seizures, or dizziness, when cancer has spread to the brain. shortness of breath, when cancer has spread to the lung. jaundice or swelling in the belly, when cancer has spread to the liver.
T1b is a tumor that is larger than 5 mm but 10 mm or smaller.
Years or even decades may pass before they cause noticeable symptoms. During this time, the cancer may go undetected. Cancer may also go undetected because of factors such as an individual's overall health and medical conditions that may cause symptoms similar to cancer.
Stage IB1: The tumor is 5 mm or more in depth and less than 2 centimeters (cm) wide. A centimeter is roughly equal to the width of a standard pen or pencil.
Primary breast tumors vary in shape and size. The smallest lesion that can be felt by hand is typically 1.5 to 2 centimeters (about 1/2 to 3/4 inch) in diameter. Sometimes tumors that are 5 centimeters (about 2 inches) — or even larger — can be found in the breast.
There are various methods to determine tumor size including palpation on physical examination and breast-imaging studies such as mammography, ultrasound, and more recently MRI. Pathology however is considered to be the gold standard method for measurement of tumor size.
Stage IA: The tumor is up to 2 centimeters (cm). It has not spread to the lymph nodes (T1, N0, M0).
For brain or lung metastasis, the larger the tumor, the more likely it was to develop metastasis. For liver metastasis, patients with a tumor size of 3–7 cm were more prone to develop liver metastasis. For bone metastasis, patients with a tumor size ≥7 cm were more likely to have bone metastasis.
T1 means the cancer is smaller than 5cm. T2 means the cancer is larger than 5cm, but no larger than 10cm. T3 means the cancer is larger than 10cm, but no larger than 15cm. T4 means the cancer is larger than 15cm.
Many breast cancers do not spread to lymph nodes until the tumor is at least 2 cm to 3 cm in diameter. Some types may spread very early, even when a tumor is less than 1 cm in size.
It was observed that tumors < 1 cm in size were benign in 46.3 percent of cases and tumors between 1 and 4 cm were benign approximately 20 percent of the time; conversely, tumors ≥ 7 cm were rarely benign, as only 6.3 percent of cases demonstrated nonmalignant histology.
Stage 2 cancer is a bit more serious than stage 1 cancer, but with early treatment, patients can be completely cured of the disease. The recurrence rate is also low if treated immediately.