What Are The Stages Of Cancer?
Other Staging Factors
Other factors are considered when an oncologist stages a patient's cancer aside from if and how far it has spread beyond its original location. The type of cell affected by cancer is also considered, as different tissues in the body undergo the process of cancer in different ways. A cancerous tumor may be graded using a numeric character between one and four. This grading of a tumor is based on how the cells comprised within it appear underneath a microscope. A lower grade of cancer is associated with cancerous cells that most closely resemble healthy cells, while a high grade of cancer is associated with cancerous cells that are more dissimilar to healthy cells. Some cancers are described by a general and basic staging method that uses roman numerals to describe the size and progression of cancer. The basic and general staging method may also consist of the letters A, B, or C to further characterize the roman numeral categories.
Get familiar with the other cancer staging systems used next.
Other Staging Systems Used
The TNM cancer staging system is not the only staging system used to classify the severity and extent of cancer. The Ann Arbor staging classification is a system commonly utilized to stage lymphomas. Types of cancer that affect the cervix, ovaries, vulva, uterus, and vagina are staged using another cancer staging system closely based on the TNM staging system. This system was created by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics or FIGO. Another widely known and used system for cancer staging is referred to as summary staging. Summary staging applies to numerous types of cancer and categorizes cancer into five different categories. These categories include in situ, localized, regional, distant, and unknown. Cancer staging systems are known to evolve and change over time due to the new developments and discoveries that allow scientists and the medical community to learn more about cancer.
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