Cancer treatment

Staging of cancers

Doctors at Yale-New Haven use nationally recognized systems of staging to categorize the seriousness of the cancer and outline your treatment plan. Results from diagnostic tests including X-rays, ultrasound, biopsies, blood tests and other tests are combined to create a complete picture of where the cancer is located, how large the tumor is (if a tumor is present), whether the cancer has spread and what subtype of cancer it is. Staging gives important diagnostic information in addition to defining therapy. Once the stage of the cancer is known, an individualized treatment plan can be developed.

Each type of cancer is staged according to specific characteristics. In general, though, "in situ" cancers have been diagnosed at the earliest possible stage.

• Stage I or "local" cancers have been diagnosed early and have not spread.
• Stage II has spread into surrounding tissues but not beyond the location of origin.
• Stage III or "regional" has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
• Stage IV or "distant" cancers have spread to other parts of the body and are the most difficult to treat.

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Last revised: April 27, 2007 (dh)

Home page URL: http://www.ynhh.org

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