Breast cancer is the type of cancer that originates in the breast tissues. This cancer generally affects women more than men. When the cancer originates in the lobules, the glands that produce milk, it is called as lobular carcinomas. The cancer that is commonly found occurring within the lining of the milk ducts that supply milk, is called as ductal carcinomas. When a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, she is asked to undergo breast cancer staging. This is a medical system that helps determine characteristics of the tumor. Breast cancer staging is very important in deciding the line of treatment. We shall go into the details of stages of breast cancer in the following paragraphs to understand the grading system better.
Stages of Breast Cancer
I am sure you must be having a question in your mind that is, 'what is staging'. It is actually a process doctors use to assess the location and the size of the cancer. It helps the doctor understand if the tumor is invasive or non-invasive. Staging and grading also helps understand if the tumor has spread to the lymph nodes and other regions or organs of the body. This breast cancer staging system helps the doctor understand the prognosis of the patients condition. It also helps the doctor decide the line of treatment. Let us have a look at the various staging systems used by doctors around the world.
Number Staging System
One of the common ways to stage a breast cancer is using numbers. The breast cancer stages range from 0 to IV and are divided into different categories. Let us go into the details of the number staging system.
Stage 0
Stage 0 is the non-invasive stage of breast cancer sometimes called as Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). This is the completely curable stage of breast cancer. Once the cancer moves on to the later stages, it is termed as invasive breast cancer.
Stage I
Stage 1 breast cancer is the invasive cancer that begins to break into the neighboring normal tissues. The size of the tumor at this stage is about 2 centimeters and it has not yet invaded the lymph nodes.
Stage II
The stage 2 breast cancer is divided into stage IIA and stage IIB. In case of stage IIA, there are three possibilities. First, where the tumor is about 2 cm in size. The cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm in this stage. Or in some cases the tumor is about 2 cm or less in size and has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm and tumor cells are not present in the breast. In third case, tumor is larger than 2 centimeters and not bigger than 5 centimeters. Also, the cancer cells have not spread to the axillary lymph nodes. If either of these scenarios are observed, then it is called as stage IIA breast cancer. In case of stage IIB, the tumor is larger than 2 centimeter and not bigger than 5 centimeters and spread to the axillary lymph nodes. Or the tumor has grown larger than 5 centimeters but not yet spread to the axillary lymph nodes.
Stage III
Just like stage II, stage 3 breast cancer is divided into IIIA, IIIB and IIIC. These stages are explained below:
Stage IIIA
* There is no tumor present in the breast and cancer is found in the axillary lymph nodes in form of clumps or the cancer has spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone
* Or the tumor is 5 cms or smaller in size and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes in form of clumps
* Or the tumor is more than 5 cm in size and spread to the axillary lymph nodes in form of clumps
Stage IIIB
* The tumor can be of any size and spread to the chest wall or the skin of the breast
* The tumor may also have spread to the axillary lymph nodes or the lymph nodes near the breastbone
* Stage IIIB includes inflammatory breast cancer, a form of aggressive cancer.
Stage IIIC
* The cancer has spread to more than 10 lymph nodes under the arm
* The cancer may have spread to the chest wall, skin of the breast
* The tumor may also be observed in the lymph nodes above and below the collarbone and near the neck
Stage IV
The stage 4 breast cancer is the one which indicates the cancer has spread to other organs of the body like lungs, liver, bones, brain, etc. This stage is also called as metastatic breast cancer.
TNM Staging System
TNM is another type of breast cancer staging system that is also used by doctors. This system helps give a more precise information related to the spread of cancer.
* T is used to indicate the size of tumor (cancer)
* N is used to indicate spread of cancer to the lymph nodes
* M helps to note if the cancer has metastasized to other parts of the body like lungs, liver, bone, etc.
Grading System
The grading system used helps one understand the rate at which the cancer may spread. This is determined by observing the cancer cells under a microscope. There are three grades of breast cancer staging explained below:
Low Grade
The low grade cancer means the cancer cells are more like normal cells and are very slowly growing. It is very unlikely that they may spread to other systems and organs.
High Grade
The high grade cancer indicates the tumor cells appear abnormal and are likely to spread as they have a high rate of growth.
Moderate Grade
The moderate grade indicates the cancer cells have an activity rate that falls between low and high grade. Therefore, one cannot understand the exact rate of growth for these cells.
This is all about breast cancer staging. As you can see, the stages of breast cancer help indicate the spread of cancer within the body. The doctor will also consider the hormone and HER reports to decide the line of treatment for a patient. Hope, the above information has been helpful for you to understand the staging system of breast cancer.
Stages of Breast Cancer
I am sure you must be having a question in your mind that is, 'what is staging'. It is actually a process doctors use to assess the location and the size of the cancer. It helps the doctor understand if the tumor is invasive or non-invasive. Staging and grading also helps understand if the tumor has spread to the lymph nodes and other regions or organs of the body. This breast cancer staging system helps the doctor understand the prognosis of the patients condition. It also helps the doctor decide the line of treatment. Let us have a look at the various staging systems used by doctors around the world.
Number Staging System
One of the common ways to stage a breast cancer is using numbers. The breast cancer stages range from 0 to IV and are divided into different categories. Let us go into the details of the number staging system.
Stage 0
Stage 0 is the non-invasive stage of breast cancer sometimes called as Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). This is the completely curable stage of breast cancer. Once the cancer moves on to the later stages, it is termed as invasive breast cancer.
Stage I
Stage 1 breast cancer is the invasive cancer that begins to break into the neighboring normal tissues. The size of the tumor at this stage is about 2 centimeters and it has not yet invaded the lymph nodes.
Stage II
The stage 2 breast cancer is divided into stage IIA and stage IIB. In case of stage IIA, there are three possibilities. First, where the tumor is about 2 cm in size. The cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm in this stage. Or in some cases the tumor is about 2 cm or less in size and has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm and tumor cells are not present in the breast. In third case, tumor is larger than 2 centimeters and not bigger than 5 centimeters. Also, the cancer cells have not spread to the axillary lymph nodes. If either of these scenarios are observed, then it is called as stage IIA breast cancer. In case of stage IIB, the tumor is larger than 2 centimeter and not bigger than 5 centimeters and spread to the axillary lymph nodes. Or the tumor has grown larger than 5 centimeters but not yet spread to the axillary lymph nodes.
Stage III
Just like stage II, stage 3 breast cancer is divided into IIIA, IIIB and IIIC. These stages are explained below:
Stage IIIA
* There is no tumor present in the breast and cancer is found in the axillary lymph nodes in form of clumps or the cancer has spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone
* Or the tumor is 5 cms or smaller in size and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes in form of clumps
* Or the tumor is more than 5 cm in size and spread to the axillary lymph nodes in form of clumps
Stage IIIB
* The tumor can be of any size and spread to the chest wall or the skin of the breast
* The tumor may also have spread to the axillary lymph nodes or the lymph nodes near the breastbone
* Stage IIIB includes inflammatory breast cancer, a form of aggressive cancer.
Stage IIIC
* The cancer has spread to more than 10 lymph nodes under the arm
* The cancer may have spread to the chest wall, skin of the breast
* The tumor may also be observed in the lymph nodes above and below the collarbone and near the neck
Stage IV
The stage 4 breast cancer is the one which indicates the cancer has spread to other organs of the body like lungs, liver, bones, brain, etc. This stage is also called as metastatic breast cancer.
TNM Staging System
TNM is another type of breast cancer staging system that is also used by doctors. This system helps give a more precise information related to the spread of cancer.
* T is used to indicate the size of tumor (cancer)
* N is used to indicate spread of cancer to the lymph nodes
* M helps to note if the cancer has metastasized to other parts of the body like lungs, liver, bone, etc.
Grading System
The grading system used helps one understand the rate at which the cancer may spread. This is determined by observing the cancer cells under a microscope. There are three grades of breast cancer staging explained below:
Low Grade
The low grade cancer means the cancer cells are more like normal cells and are very slowly growing. It is very unlikely that they may spread to other systems and organs.
High Grade
The high grade cancer indicates the tumor cells appear abnormal and are likely to spread as they have a high rate of growth.
Moderate Grade
The moderate grade indicates the cancer cells have an activity rate that falls between low and high grade. Therefore, one cannot understand the exact rate of growth for these cells.
This is all about breast cancer staging. As you can see, the stages of breast cancer help indicate the spread of cancer within the body. The doctor will also consider the hormone and HER reports to decide the line of treatment for a patient. Hope, the above information has been helpful for you to understand the staging system of breast cancer.
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