What it means
Staging uses exams, imaging, biopsies and surgery to describe a cancer. A common system is TNM: the size of the tumor (T), whether it has reached lymph nodes (N), and whether it has spread to distant organs (metastasis, M). These combine into stages from 0 (very early) to IV (spread far). The stage guides treatment and helps predict the outcome.
At a glance
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Related terms
lymph node
A small, bean-shaped organ of the immune system that filters lymph fluid and holds white blood cells.
multiple myeloma
A cancer of plasma cells, the white blood cells that make antibodies, that grows in the bone marrow.
oncology
The branch of medicine that deals with cancer.