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Stomach Cancer
What Are The Stages Of Stomach Cancer?
For stomach cancer, the following stages are used:
Stage 0: This stage is very early cancer. At this stage, cancer is found only in the innermost layer of the stomach wall.
Stage I: Stage I is slightly more advanced. There are two possible criteria of this stage:
- Cancer is found in the second or third layers of the stomach and has not spread to the lymph nodes near the location of the cancer, or
- Cancer is in the second layer of the stomach and has spread to lymph nodes very close to the tumor.
Stage II: Stage II is slightly more advanced than Stage I. In this stage, three conditions may be found:
- Cancer is in the second layer of the stomach wall and has spread to lymph nodes further away from the tumor, or
- Cancer is only in the muscle layer (the third layer) of the stomach and has spread to lymph nodes very close to the tumor, or
- Cancer is in all four layers of the stomach wall but has not spread to lymph nodes or other organs.
Stage III: Stage III is slightly more advanced than Stage II. In this stage, any of the following may be found:
- Cancer is in the third layer of the stomach wall and has spread to lymph nodes further away from the tumor, or
- Cancer is in all four layers of the stomach wall and has spread to lymph nodes either very close to the tumor or further away from the tumor.
- Cancer is found in all four layers of the stomach wall and has spread to nearby tissues. The cancer may or may not have spread to lymph nodes very close to the tumor.
Stage IV: In Stage IV stomach
Recurrent: Recurrent disease means that the cancer has returned after treatment. It may come back in the stomach, or in another part of the body such as the pancreas, lung, or lymph nodes.