| Kidney cancer stages are a recognized way of describing the level of progress of a kidney cancer case. Once a stage has been assigned, the doctor can begin to evaluate the best means for treatment.
The greatest value of assigning a stage is that it lets the doctor - and the patient - know how serious the disease has become and how far cancer cells have spread. Are there cancer cells only in the kidney, or have cells spread to nearby lymph nodes, glands, or even to other organs of the body? So no doubt you can understand why knowing the stage is critical information in evaluating the best possible ways to treat the disease and bring about the most satisfactory outcome.
A number of factors are considered in determining a kidney cancer stage designation. Typically, a number between one and four will be assigned after a diagnosis has been made with the help of tests and other information. It's also possible the doctor will assign a Roman numeral to the stage, but this practice is usually done by medical professionals and not the general public.
Knowing the stage can also give kidney cancer patients a reasonably reliable way to guess survival rates (which are usually based on 5-year intervals). Each case has many variables, of course. But in general, it's logical that someone in an early stage is more likely to survive longer than someone in a later stage.
Kidney cancer cases are assigned a stage based on the following descriptions.
Stage 1 - The size of the tumor is less than 2.8 inches or 7 centimeters across. There is no evidence of cancer outside the kidney itself.
Stage 2 - This is a more serious stage than Stage 1 because the tumor is larger. It's now bigger than 7 centimeters or 2.8 inches. However, all cancer cells still appear to be located in the kidney, and there's no evidence of metastasis (spreading to other tissues or organs).
Stage 3 - Kidney cancer is more complicated to treat at Stage 3 because it has spread to the adjacent adrenal gland or a major vein near the kidney. It may also be found in no more than one lymph node.
Stage 4 - Treatment at Stage 4 is understandably more difficult because the cancer has progressed to a dangerous point.. Cancer is now present in more than one lymph node. It may also be present in a distant organ of the body (metastasis) or in tissues and parts of the body beyond the kidneys.
The stage system is not the only method of evaluating the danger posed by kidney cancer. Doctors can also assign a "grade" that is a further indication of the level of danger. The grade describes how cancer cells look when examined under a microscope.
If there's not much difference in appearance between the cancer cells and normal cells, a low grade will be designated. However, when there's a big difference in appearance between normal cells and abnormal cells, a higher grade will be designated. Grade determinations are an indicator of how aggressive the cancer is and how fast it is probably going to spread. Cancers that receive a higher grade typically spread more quickly, and are therefore more dangerous.
Summarizing, the greatest value in knowing the stage kidney cancer has reached is in giving the patient a prognosis and evaluating treatment options.
Kidney cancer occurs most often in adults who have reached 50 years of age, and it occurs twice as often to men as it does to women. Around 30,000 new cases of kidney cancer are diagnosed every year in the U.S., and there are about 12,000 deaths attributed to it annually.
Hopefully, as research toward finding a cure goes forward, these numbers will come down. But until then, the kidney cancer staging system will provide doctors with information they need to make important treatment decisions - and save as many lives as possible in the process.
Related topics: stages of kidney cancer and causes of kidney cancer. Neal Kennedy is a retired TV and radio reporter. To read more of his articles, click on kidney conditions. |
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