Colon Cancer Stages Tnm
In the case of colon and rectal cancer the system used is one that goes by the acronym tnm which stands for tumor.
Colon cancer stages tnm. The tnm system is the most widely used cancer staging system. Stage i stage 1 colorectal cancer. Stage 1 colon cancer indicates the cancer has grown into the inner layer of the colon called the mucosa to the next layer of the colon called the submucosa. The earliest stage colorectal cancers are called stage 0 a very early cancer and then range from stages i 1 through iv 4.
The tnm staging system. Often tumors localized to the organ of origin are staged as i or ii depending on the extent locally extensive spread to regional nodes are staged as iii and those with distant metastasis staged as stage iv. However in some tumor types stage groups do not conform to this simplified schema. A higher number such as stage iv means cancer has spread more.
You are likely to see your cancer described by this staging system in your pathology report unless you have a cancer for which a different staging system is used. Doctors use it to describe the size of the tumour t whether the cancer has spread to lymph nodes n or to other parts of the body m. The cancer is in its earliest stage and hasn t spread beyond the mucosa which is the inner lining of the colon or rectum. This stage is also known as carcinoma in situ.
And within a stage an earlier letter means a lower stage. Stage 1 the cancer has. There is no evidence the cancer has spread to lymph nodes or distant organs. Colorectal carcinoma staging can be performed using two systems.
Most hospitals and medical centers use the tnm system as their main method for cancer reporting. Tumour node and metastasis tnm staging is one of the systems used to stage bowel colon and rectal cancer. Staging colon cancer and rectal cancer each cancer has its own staging criteria. Cells found in stage 0 colorectal cancer may be cancerous or precancerous.
The cancer has grown into the intestinal wall through the mucosa the inner lining and into the submucosa and may have entered the muscle. As a rule the lower the number the less the cancer has spread.