Stages of Lung Cancer

The process that is employed by physicians to determine the phase of the lung cancer is staging. By staging the physician can verify the prognosis due to cancer. By knowing the stage the physician can plan the treatment and can evaluate the results.

Various staging techniques are done to determine the various kinds of cancer. A CT scan is done to see the adrenal glands. By this mediastinum and contra lateral lung can be evaluated to detect pleural effusions. Patients with abnormal elevations in calcium serum or alkaline phosphate and pain should go for radionuclide bone scan so as to see metastases of cancer.

Mediastinoscopy can tell mediastinal lymph node spread and one can avoid thoracotomy and resection. Thus by evaluating the cancer stage the doctor can plan the treatment keeping in mind the patient’s medical history. Also tests can tell if the patient can undergo safely the surgery.

Small cell lung cancer stages-
Approximately 25% of all type of cancers account for Small cell lung cancer. The stages can be very limited as well as extensive. Better outlook is for the limited or the restricted kind of cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are done to treat the condition. Surgery is done in the rarest case. Most of this kind of cancer gets metastases to the other body part.

Non-Small cell lung cancer stages-
Staging of this kind of cancer is done with the TNM system. This gives the information about the primary tumor, with lymph nodes status and evidence of metastases if any.

-In stage I the cancer is located inside one lung.

-In stage II the cancer is located in the lung with lymph nodes affected in same side of chest.

-In stage IIIA the cancer is like a mass or tumor and has affected one or more lymph nodes far from tumor without going out of chest.

-In stage IIIB more areas inside the chest are affected.

-In stage IV the cancer is metastasized to other body parts.