Knowing the stage, grade and receptor status of your breast cancer will allow your health care team to decide with you the best treatment options for your condition. Your health care team will draw on the experience gained from treating many other patients with a disease similar to yours.
Stages of breast cancer
When cancer has been diagnosed, it is important to determine the stage of the cancer. Staging helps to identify whether breast cancer is at an early, locally advanced or metastatic stage.
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 (2) 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 (or metastatic) cancer.
Metastatic breast cancer
When breast cancer spreads, or metastasizes, the most common sites include the bones, 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. There are resources and support services available for people living with metastatic breast cancer.
Grading breast cancer
Breast cancers are also classified by grade. Grading takes into account several features of the cancer and indicates how aggressive the cancer is likely to be. The grade is determined by examining the appearance and behaviour of cancer cells under a microscope.
Receptor status
Cell receptors
In addition to staging and grading information, your oncologist will consider what is known as the “receptor status” of the cells. Some breast cancer cells have receptors into which the female hormone molecules (estrogen and progesterone) fit like a lock and key. If these receptors are present, the hormones will encourage the cancer to grow.
Some tumours also produce too much of a receptor called HER-2-neu. When this happens, the HER-2 receptor tells the cancer cells to grow faster.
Knowing the stage, grade, receptor status and number of HER-2 receptors for your breast cancer will allow your health care team to decide with you the best treatment options for your condition.
More Information:
Source
Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. (2008). Guiding women though a breast cancer diagnosis. A supportive and personal approach.