Staging

Staging is a way of describing a cancer, such as where it is located, if or where it has spread, and if 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 of 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.

There is no standard system for staging appendix cancer. However, many doctors classify an appendix tumor into three general stages:

Localized spread. The tumor has not spread beyond the wall of the primary organ, such as the appendix, stomach, or intestine.

Regional spread. The tumor has spread through the wall of the primary organ and involves nearby tissue, such as fat, muscle, or lymph nodes.

Distant spread. The tumor has spread to tissue or organs far away from the primary organ, such as other areas of the abdomen, liver, bones, or lungs.

Recurrent. Recurrent cancer is cancer that comes back after treatment.

Tumor grade. Doctors may also use the term "grade," which describes how much the tumor appears like normal tissue under a microscope. The grade of a cancer can help the doctor predict how quickly the cancer might grow. In cancer that resembles normal tissue, doctors can clearly see different types of cells grouped together (called well differentiated). In a higher-grade cancer, cancer cells usually look less like normal cells, or "wilder" (called poorly differentiated or undifferentiated). In general, a patient with a more differentiated tumor has a better prognosis.

GX: The tumor grade cannot be identified.

G1: The tumor cells are well-differentiated.

G2: The tumor cells are moderately differentiated.

G3: The tumor cells are poorly differentiated.

G4: The tumor cells are undifferentiated.