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 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.

After the staging tests (described in Diagnosis) are completed, the doctor will assign a stage that describes how far the disease has spread. The disease stage is needed to plan treatment. The four stages of Hodgkin lymphoma (I to IV; one to four) are described below.

In addition, each person’s disease is put into one of two categories, “A” or “B,” based on whether the person has symptoms of unexplained fever, drenching night sweats, or weight loss. "A" means the patient does not have these symptoms, while "B" means that at least one of these symptoms is present.

Stage I: Cancer occurs in only one area of lymph nodes or in one area or organ outside the lymph nodes.

Stage II: Cancer occurs in two or more lymph node areas on the same side of the diaphragm, or cancer occurs in one lymph node area and one area or organ adjacent to the lymph nodes.

Stage III: Cancer occurs in lymph node areas above and below the diaphragm. The cancer may spread to an area or organ near these lymph nodes and possibly to the spleen.

Stage IV: Cancer has spread outside of the lymph node system to the lungs, liver, bones, bone marrow, or other organs.

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