The Mesothelioma staging system helps indicate the extent and spread of cancer to assist oncologists in designing appropriate cancer treatment for patients. Malignancies are classified based on staging that begins with determining the location of the primary tumor followed by the presence or absence of a cellular structure. Staging helps understand the spread of Mesothelioma and if malignancy is treatable and to what extent.
All staging systems indicate the increasing severity of Mesothelioma through 4 stages:
* Stage 1 Mesothelioma where the tumor is small and confined to one organ or region.
* Stage 2 Mesothelioma when tumor has grown and spread from its original site to affect one other tissue.
* Stage 3 Mesothelioma when tumor has spread from its original site to other the adjacent structures.
* Stage 4 Mesothelioma when tumor has metastasized or spread through the bloodstream to distant organs of the body.
Currently there are 3 Mesothelioma staging systems in use:
ü The Butchart Staging System, which is more often used than the other staging systems, indicates stages of Pleural Mesothelioma cancer. In Stage 1 Mesothelioma based on the Butchart analysis, the primary tumor is small and confined to either the left or right pleural of the lung cavity, and may or may not be present in the lungs, the pericardium and the diaphragm on the same side.
ü The TNM Staging System, where T stands for the main tumor (its size and extent of spread), N stands for lymph nodes (indicates extent of spread to regional lymph nodes), and M stands for metastasis (spread of cancer to other organs of the body). T, N, and M have numbers from 0 to 4 appearing after them to indicate the extent of spread of tumor in the body.
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