Endocrine Tumor

Staging is a way of describing a cancerous tumor, such as where it is located, if or where it has spread, and whether it is affecting the functions of other organs in the body. Doctors use diagnostic tests to determine the cancer's stage, so staging may not be complete until all the tests are finished. Knowing the stage helps the doctor to decide what kind of treatment is best and can help predict a patient's prognosis (chance of recovery). There are different stage descriptions for different types of cancer.

One tool that doctors use to describe the stage is the TNM system. This system judges three factors: the tumor itself, the lymph nodes around the tumor, and if the tumor has spread to the rest of the body. The results are combined to determine the stage of cancer for each person. There are five stages: stage 0 (zero) and stages I through IV (one through four). The stage provides a common way of describing the cancer so doctors can work together to plan the best treatments.

TNM is an abbreviation for tumor (T), node (N), and metastasis (M). Doctors look at these three factors to determine the stage of cancer:

• How large is the primary tumor, and where is it located? (Tumor, T)
• Has the tumor spread to the lymph nodes? (Node, N)
• Has the cancer metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body? (Metastasis, M)

Tumor. Using the TNM system, the "T" plus a letter or number (0 to 4) is used to describe the size and location of the tumor. Some stages are also divided into smaller groups that help describe the tumor in even more detail.

Node. The “N” in the TNM staging system stands for lymph nodes, the tiny, bean-shaped organs that help fight infection. Lymph nodes near the tumor are called regional lymph nodes. Lymph nodes in other parts of the body are called distant lymph nodes.

Distant metastasis. The “M” in the TNM system indicates whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.

Doctors assign the stage of the cancer by combining the T, N, and M classifications.

Recurrent tumor: A recurrent tumor is a tumor that comes back after treatment. If there is a recurrence, the tumor may need to be staged again (re-staging) using the system above.

For more information on the staging of an endocrine tumor, see each individual tumor type.