Staging of cancer is meant to help the medical practitioner to tell how far it has spread. You will have to go through a series of scans and tests to determine the extent of the pathology. From the results, effective treatment plans can then be put into action. Prostate cancer staging is therefore very important.
The cancer of the prostate is staged using TNM stages. This is in the international standard of staging. It assesses the tumor, lymph nodes and the degree of spread. If the tumor is said to be in T1, it means that the area affected is too small and thus a diagnosis cannot be made through palpation or scans. A needle biopsy has to be done in order to pick this up.
Stage two in the tumor classification system is divided into three. T2a means half of the prostate gland is affected while in T2b the area affected exceed half. In T3c, the whole of the gland has been invaded by the cancerous cells. In tumor stage 3, the capsule has been broken into by the cancerous cells. This stage also has been subdivided into T3a where the capsule is the only other place which has been affected besides the prostate gland and in T3b, seminal vesicles have been invaded by the cancerous cells.
The final stage in tumor classification is T4 stage in which the tumor is found in various body organs. The nearby organs are mostly affected including the rectum, muscles, bladder and the pelvic cavity sides. The fourth and third stages are the most difficult to manage.
In lymph node staging, the guiding factor is the severity of the condition in the lymph nodes. They are said to be positive if they contain cancer cells. This makes them to swell. In NX stage, it is not possible to check them and in N0 stage the lymph nodes adjacent to the prostate have no cancer cells. However, in N1 stage, the malignancy has reached the lymph nodes.
In metastasis staging, the first one is Mo where the malignancy has not spread out of pelvis. In M1, the malignancy has reached outside the pelvis. This stage has three subdivisions. In M1a, the cancerous cells have not affected the lymph nodes which are not in the pelvis while in M1b, the malignancy has spread to the bone. Last come M1c in which the cancer has spread to the rest of body organs. There are different things which have to be put into consideration when staging the cancer. Mostly, it is the invasiveness of the disease and its aggressiveness.
Locally advanced cancer of the prostate is confined to the gland but the metastatic type has spread. The places which are hardly hit are the bones and lymph nodes. However, many a times it reaches other body organs too.
To note is that it is possible for the malignancy to spread even when it not advanced. This is why serious actions should be taken to manage the disease in case scans show that there is some degree of metastasis. The cure rates are high if the treatment is started early.
The cancer of the prostate is staged using TNM stages. This is in the international standard of staging. It assesses the tumor, lymph nodes and the degree of spread. If the tumor is said to be in T1, it means that the area affected is too small and thus a diagnosis cannot be made through palpation or scans. A needle biopsy has to be done in order to pick this up.
Stage two in the tumor classification system is divided into three. T2a means half of the prostate gland is affected while in T2b the area affected exceed half. In T3c, the whole of the gland has been invaded by the cancerous cells. In tumor stage 3, the capsule has been broken into by the cancerous cells. This stage also has been subdivided into T3a where the capsule is the only other place which has been affected besides the prostate gland and in T3b, seminal vesicles have been invaded by the cancerous cells.
The final stage in tumor classification is T4 stage in which the tumor is found in various body organs. The nearby organs are mostly affected including the rectum, muscles, bladder and the pelvic cavity sides. The fourth and third stages are the most difficult to manage.
In lymph node staging, the guiding factor is the severity of the condition in the lymph nodes. They are said to be positive if they contain cancer cells. This makes them to swell. In NX stage, it is not possible to check them and in N0 stage the lymph nodes adjacent to the prostate have no cancer cells. However, in N1 stage, the malignancy has reached the lymph nodes.
In metastasis staging, the first one is Mo where the malignancy has not spread out of pelvis. In M1, the malignancy has reached outside the pelvis. This stage has three subdivisions. In M1a, the cancerous cells have not affected the lymph nodes which are not in the pelvis while in M1b, the malignancy has spread to the bone. Last come M1c in which the cancer has spread to the rest of body organs. There are different things which have to be put into consideration when staging the cancer. Mostly, it is the invasiveness of the disease and its aggressiveness.
Locally advanced cancer of the prostate is confined to the gland but the metastatic type has spread. The places which are hardly hit are the bones and lymph nodes. However, many a times it reaches other body organs too.
To note is that it is possible for the malignancy to spread even when it not advanced. This is why serious actions should be taken to manage the disease in case scans show that there is some degree of metastasis. The cure rates are high if the treatment is started early.
About the Author:
For a summary of the advantages of prostate cancer staging don't hesitate to check out our website today. To reach our homepage now, just click on this link http://smart-surgery.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment