Stomach Cancer Stages
Like many cancer types, the severity of stomach cancer is denoted by a stage. For stomach cancer stages, the count starts from 0 and ends in 4, which is the most severe. The following explains each stage.
Stage 0
If the stomach cancer is very difficult to diagnose, but the cancer cells are there, this is considered a precursor for stomach cancer. It means that a tumour is forthcoming if the beginning infection isn’t put to a halt. The problem is that stage 0 of cancer is more often than not missed. In many cases, it’s simply dismissed because people tend to think it’s not bad enough.
Stage 1
This is the advance phase of cancer, the stage where the cancer cells are often discovered. The majority of patients are diagnosed while in this stage, since the precursors are nearly undetectable on stage 0. The first stage of stomach cancer can be categorized into two criteria: First, the cancer cells are found in the third or second layers of the patient’s stomach. The cancer cells haven’t had time to spread away from the lymph nodes. The patient falls into the second criteria if the lymph nodes have been taken down by the cancer cells, and the cells are very close enough to the tumour.
Stage 2
This is considered the “slightly advanced” phase of stomach cancer stages. It’s no less severe because the chances that the cancer will precede to the third and fourth stages go up. In this stage, three conditions are found in the patient. The first condition is very similar to the second criteria of first stage stomach cancer: when the cancer cells have spread to the lymph nodes, past the second stomach layer. It’s either that or the cancer cells are in the third layer of the stomach and have also spread to the lymph nodes. The third and most severe is if the cells have invaded all four stomach layers, but still haven’t breached the walls to the lymph nodes.
Stage 3
In the third stage of stomach cancer, the cells would have spread farther from the tumour. All four layers including the lymph nodes are invaded. The cancer is beginning to spread to the nearby tissues as well. The third stage is characterized either by a growth of cancer cells far away from the tumor or close around it.
Stage 4
The last of the stomach cancer stages applies upon failure of containing the cancer in the stomach. In this stage, the cancer has also spread to other parts of the body.
Related Topics:
- Esophageal Cancer Stages
- Pancreatic Cancer Stages
- Stomach Cancer Facts
- Lung Cancer Stages
- Stomach Cancer Diagnosis
- Stomach Cancer Causes
- Stomach Cancer Definition
- Bladder Cancer Stages
- Stomach Cancer Prevention