One of the first things that a doctor does after diagnosing lung cancer is to determine its extent of stage. Staging determines if the cancer is limited to the lung or if it has spread to other parts of the body. Because the stage of your lung cancer will have an impact on the selection of the best course of treatment, the doctor needs to determine the stage of your lung cancer before recommending the best course of treatment for you.
The Stage of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Most doctors use the TNM classification system to stage non-small cell lung cancer: “T” refers to the size of the tumour, “N” refers to the lymph node involvement, and “M” refers to metastasis. Staging is based on:
The size and location of the primary tumour; The presence of cancer cells in the lymph nodes; and, The spread of the lung cancer to other organs.
All of this information is required to determine the stage of non-small cell lung ancer.
Non-small cell lung cancer has four stages:
Stage I: The cancer is only in the lung and has not spread to the lymph nodes.
Stage II: The cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes but not to lymph nodes in the area between the two lungs (mediastinum); or The cancer has spread to the chest wall.
Stage III: The cancer has spread to the lymph nodes in the area between the two lungs (mediastinum); or The cancer has spread to the lymph nodes on the other side of the mediastinum or to the neck.
Stage III is further divided into:
Stage III-A: – potentially the tumour could be removed (resectable).
Stage III-B: – usually the tumour cannot be surgically removed.
Stage IV: The cancer has spread to one or more other parts of the body, such as the bones, liver, brain, or other organs.
The Stage of Small Cell Lung Cancer:
Small cell lung cancer is usually staged using the terms listed below:
Limited-Stage: The cancer involves one lung and possibly lymph nodes on the same side of the chest as the cancer. The area affected by the cancer can be encompassed by a single radiation treatment.
Extensive-Stage: The cancer has spread beyond the extent of limitedstage small cell lung cancer including other parts of the body such as the bones, liver and brain.