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DIAGNOSIS > Staging and grading of breast cancer
STAGING AND GRADING OF BREAST CANCER
Knowing the stage and grade of your cancer will allow your health care team to draw on the experience gained from treating many other patients with a disease similar to yours and will help you and your health care team to select the best treatment options for your condition.
Stages of breast cancer
When cancer has been diagnosed, it is important to determine the stage of the cancer. One of the most common staging systems is the TNM system, which stands for Tumour, Nodes, and Metastases. This system considers the size of the tumour, the number of lymph nodes that are affected, if any, and the other parts of the body that the cancer has spread (metastasized) to, if any.
These three factors are combined to give an overall stage between 0 and IV (0 to 4), which is why you will hear people talk about “Stage II cancer,” for example.
Staging helps identify whether a breast cancer is at an early or advanced stage, with a lower number indicating an earlier cancer and a higher number indicating a more advanced cancer. Breast cancers are sometimes classified as early, locally advanced or metastatic:
- Early breast cancer is still contained in the tissues of the breast.
- Locally advanced breast cancer refers to a cancer larger than 5cm across or one that has spread from the breast to tissues or lymph nodes near the breast, such as the chest and armpit.
- Metastatic breast cancer, also known as secondary cancer, has spread from the breast to distant tissues or organs in the body. When breast cancer spreads, or metastasizes, the most common sites include the bone, liver, brain, and lungs. Once it has spread to distant parts of the body, breast cancer is no longer considered curable. However it can still be treated and many people live with metastatic breast cancer for a long time. For more detailed information on metastatic breast cancer, the booklet “Navigating Your Path: A guide for people with advanced breast cancer” may be helpful.
Grading
Breast cancers are also classified by grade. Grading takes into account several features of the cancer and gives an indication of how aggressive the cancer is likely to be. It is determined by examining the appearance and behaviour of cancer cells under a microscope.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
STAGING AND GRADING
METASTATIC BREAST CANCER
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