Cancer Intro: Grading, Staging, TNM Flashcards
what is the definition of grading
pathologist compares the appearance of cancer cells to the normal surrounding cells
what is the definition of staging
classifying a malignancy by the extent of spread within the body
what are the numbers for grading
gx
g1
g2
g3
g4
what does gx mean
can not be assessed
what does g1 mean
low grade, well differentiated, slow growing
what does g2 mean
moderate grade, moderately differentiated, growing slightly faster
what does g3 mean
high grade, poorly differentiated, growing faster
what does g4 mean
high grade, undifferentiated, not distinct at all, very aggressive
what does stage 1 mean
samll cancer found only in organ where it originated
what does stage 2 mean
larger cancer that may/may have not spread to lymph nodes
what does stage 3 mean
larger cancer also in the lymph nodes
what does stage 4 mean
cancer has spread from original site into other organs
what is TNM
system of staging
what does T in TNM mean
size of primary tumor
what does N in TNM mean
number of lymph nodes involved
what does M in TNM mean
extent of metastasis
what are the numbers for the tumor size in TNM
tx
t0
tis
t1
t2
t3
t4
what does tx mean
tumor size can’t be measured
what does t0 mean
no primary tumor, or can’t be found
what does tis mean
tumor is in situ
what does t1 mean
small or early stage
what does t2 mean
confined to original area
what does t3 mean
has spread to surrounding tissues
what does t4 mean
large, advanced stage cancer
what are the numbers/categories of staging for nodes in TNM
nx
n0
n1
n2
n3
what does nx mean
nearby nodes can’t be tested/evaluated
what does n0 mean
lymph nodes are cancer free
what does n1 mean
cancer cells have reached one node
what does n2 mean
cancer spread to more than one node
what does n3 mean
cancer in lymph nodes extensive/widespread
what are the numbers/categories of metastasis
mx
m0
m1
what does mx mean
unknown if cancer has spread
what does m0 mean
no distant metastases
what does m1 mean
cancer has spread to one or more distant parts of the body
what does in situ mean (Tis)
still in the original tissue layer
what does localized mean
still in the original organ
what does regional mean
spread to nearby lymph nodes or organs
what does distant mean
spread to distant body parts
