Stage of BREAST CANCER

The stage describes the extent of the cancer in the body. It is based on whether the cancer is invasive or non-invasive, the size of the tumor, how many lymph nodes are involved, and if it has spread to other parts of the body. The stage of a cancer is one of the most important factors in determining prognosis and treatment options. In men usually should be aware in Prostate Cancer.

Staging is the process of finding out how widespread a cancer is when it is diagnosed. Depending on the results of your physical exam and biopsy, your doctor may want you to have certain imaging tests such as a chest x-ray, mammograms of both breasts, bone scans, computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and/or positron emission tomography (PET) scans (see below). Blood tests may also be done to evaluate your overall health and help find out if the cancer has spread to certain organs.




The stage of a breast cancer can be based either on the results of physical exam, biopsy, and imaging tests (called the clinical stage), or on the results of these tests plus the results of surgery (called the pathologic stage). The staging described here is the pathologic stage, which includes the findings after surgery, when the pathologist has looked at the breast mass and nearby lymph nodes. Pathologic staging is likely to be more accurate than clinical staging, as it allows the doctor to get a firsthand impression of the extent of the cancer.
Different treatment options and sequences are considered for each stage of breast cancer.
Cancer stage is based on the size of the tumor, whether the cancer is invasive or non-invasive, whether lymph nodes are involved, and whether the cancer has spread beyond the breast.

Stage 0 is used to describe non-invasive breast cancers, such as DCIS and LCIS.

Stage I describes invasive breast cancer (cancer cells are breaking through to or invading neighboring normal tissue) in which:
•the tumor measures up to 2 centimeters, AND
•no lymph nodes are involved

Stage II
Stage IIA describes invasive breast cancer in which:
•no tumor can be found in the breast, but cancer cells are found in the axillary lymph nodes (the lymph nodes under the arm), OR
•the tumor measures 2 centimeters or less and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes, OR
Stage IIB describes invasive breast cancer in which:
•the tumor is larger than 2 but no larger than 5 centimeters and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes, OR
•the tumor is larger than 5 centimeters but has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes

Stage III
Stage IIIA describes invasive breast cancer in which either:
•no tumor is found in the breast. Cancer is found in axillary lymph nodes that are clumped together or sticking to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone, OR
Stage IIIB describes invasive breast cancer in which:
•may have spread to axillary lymph nodes that are clumped together or sticking to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone
•Inflammatory breast cancer is considered at least stage IIIB.
Stage IIIC describes invasive breast cancer in which:
• the cancer has spread to lymph nodes above or below the collarbone, AND
•the cancer may have spread to axillary lymph nodes or to lymph nodes near the breastbone


Stage IV describes invasive breast cancer in which:
"Metastatic at presentation" means that the breast cancer has spread beyond the breast and nearby lymph nodes, even though this is the first diagnosis of breast cancer. The reason for this is that the primary breast cancer was not found when it was only inside the breast. Metastatic cancer is considered stage IV.

Additional staging information
You may also hear terms such as "early" or "earlier" stage, "later," or "advanced" stage breast cancer. Although these terms are not medically precise (they may be used differently by different doctors).