Breast Cancer Staging What The Numbers Mean - Making The Diagnosis: Breast Cancer
Content provided by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School
Breast cancer staging: What the numbers mean
| To determine your stage, find T, N, and M classifications from your pathology report on this list. For example, the pathology report might describe a tumor that is T1, N0, M0. That means the tumor is Stage 1. | ||||||||
| Stage groupings | Stage 0 | Stage I | Stage IIA | Stage IIB | Stage IIIA | Stage IIIB | Stage IIIC | Stage IV |
| T (Tumor) | Tis | T1* | T0 T1* T2 | T2 T3 | T0 T1* T2 T3 T3 | T4 T4 T4 | Any T | Any T |
| N (Nodes) | N0 | N0 | N1 N1 N0 | N1 N0 | N2 N2 N2 N1 N2 | N0 N1 N2 | N3 | Any N |
| M (Metastasis) | M0 | M0 | M0 M0 M0 | M0 M0 | M0 M0 M0 M0 M0 | M0 M0 M0 | M0 | M1 |
| *T1 includes T1mic | ||||||||
| Interpreting the T, N, M classifications |
T = Tumor |
| T0: No evidence of primary tumor Tis: Carcinoma in situ Tis (DCIS): Ductal carcinoma in situ Tis (LCIS): Lobular carcinoma in situ Tis (Paget's): Paget's disease of the nipple with no tumor T1: Tumor 2 cm or less in greatest dimension T1mic: Microinvasion 0.1 cm or less (microinvasion is a small tumor within the breast only) T1a: Tumor more than 0.1 cm but not more than 0.5 cm in greatest dimension T1b: Tumor more than 0.5 cm but not more than 1 cm in greatest dimension T1c: Tumor more than 1 cm but not more than 2 cm in greatest dimension T2: Tumor more than 2 cm but not more than 5 cm in greatest dimension T3: Tumor more than 5 cm in greatest dimension T4: Tumor of any size with direct extension to chest wall, skin, or both T4a: Extension to chest wall, not including pectoralis muscle T4b: Edema or ulceration of the skin of the breast, or scattered skin nodules confined to the same breast |
N = Nodes |
| N0: No regional lymph node metastasis N1: Metastasis in 1-3 lymph nodes N2: Metastasis to 4-9 axillary (underarm) lymph nodes, or to internal mammary nodes that are clinically apparent in the absence of axillary lymph node metastasis N3: Metastasis to 10 or more axillary lymph nodes, or
|
M = Metastasis |
| M0: No distant metastasis M1: Distant metastasis present MX: Distant metastasis cannot be assessed |
| Source: American Joint Committee on Cancer, 2002 |
| Last updated: | April 23, 2007 |
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Medical content reviewed by the Faculty of the Harvard Medical School. Harvard Health Publications, Copyright © 2007 by President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Used with permission of StayWell.
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