kidney cancer STAGe grouping with illustrations ...!!!
Once your doctor diagnoses kidney cancer, the next step is to determine the extent, or stage, of the cancer.
Once the T, N, and M categories have been determined, this information is combined in a process called stage grouping to determine a patient’s overall disease stage. This is expressed in Roman numerals from stage I (the least serious or earliest stage) to stage IV (the most serious or advanced stage).
Once the T, N, and M categories have been determined, this information is combined in a process called stage grouping to determine a patient’s overall disease stage. This is expressed in Roman numerals from stage I (the least serious or earliest stage) to stage IV (the most serious or advanced stage).
Stage I: T1a-T1b, N0, M0. It is an early stage of kidney cancer. The tumor is 7 cm or smaller and confined to the kidney. It is no bigger than a tennis ball.There is no spread to lymph nodes or distant organs.
Stage II: T2, N0, M0. It is also an early stage of kidney cancer. The tumor is larger than 7 cm but is still confined to the kidney. There is no spread to lymph nodes or distant organs.
Stage III: T1a-T3b, N1, M0 or T3a-T3c, N0, M0. Several combinations of T and N categories are included in this stage. These include any tumor that has spread to only one nearby lymph node but not to other organs. Stage III also includes tumors that have not spread to lymph nodes or distant organs but have spread to the adrenal glands, to fatty tissue and fibrous tissue that surround the kidney, and/or have grown into the large vein (vena cava) leading from the kidney to the heart.But cancer cells have not spread beyond the fibrous tissue.
Stage IV: T4, N0-N1, M0 or Any T, N2, M0 or Any T, Any N, M1. Several combinations of T, N, and M categories are included in this stage, which includes any cancers that have spread directly through the fatty tissue and beyond Gerota’s fascia, the fibrous tissue that surrounds the kidney. Stage IV also includes any cancer that has spread to more than one lymph node near the kidney, or to any lymph node distant from the kidney, or to any distant organs such as the lungs, bone, or brain.
