18 Oct TNM System
Posted at 15:47h
in
A standardized “code” to describe how severe a tumor is, based on how deep in the stomach it is located, how many lymph nodes are involved and whether or not it has metastasized to other organs.
- T stage: there are 4 layers to the stomach. From the inside, they are: (1) the mucosa, (2) submucosa, (3) muscularis and (4) peritoneum. T1 tumors are the least severe and have only invaded the mucosa; the ranking system increases in depth from here.
- N stage: this describes the number of lymph nodes (LN) a cancer has invaded. N0 means that zero lymph nodes have developed cancer, N1 involves 1-2 LNs, N2 involves 3-6 LNs and N3 involves 7 or more LNs
- M stage: M0 means there are no distant metastases, M1 means there are.