How is Cancer Stage ?

After a diagnosis is made, doctors find out how far the cancer has spread and determine the stage of the cancer. The stage determines which choices will be available for treatment and informs prognoses. The most common cancer staging method is called the TNM system.

• T (1-4) indicates the size and direct extent of the primary tumour
• N (0-3) indicates the degree to which the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes and M (0-1) indicates whether the cancer has metastasized to other organs in the body.
• A small tumour that has not spread to lymph nodes or distant organs may be staged as (T1, N0, M0).

TNM descriptions then lead to a simpler categorization of stages, from 0 to 4, where lower numbers indicate that the cancer has spread less. While most Stage 1 tumours are curable, most Stage 4 tumours are inoperable or untreatable.