Tumor Grade - Stage: Prognosis

• Methods to quantify the probable clinical aggressiveness of a given neoplasm and to express its apparent extent and spread in the individual patient are necessary for comparisons of end results of various forms of treatment

• Note: when compared to grading, staging is more important for prognosis clinically

1. Tumor Grade

   • Grading of a cancer attempts to establish some estimate of its aggressiveness or level of malignancy based on the cytologic differentiation of tumor cells and the number of mitoses within the tumor

   • May be classified as grade I, II, III, or IV, in order of increasing anaplasia

~ i.e. (1) is well differentiated and (4) is poorly differentiated

• Criteria for the individual grades vary with each form of neoplasia

1. Tumor Stage

   • Staging of cancers is based on the size of the primary lesion, its extent of spread to regional lymph nodes, and the presence or absence of metastases

   • Two methods of staging:

~ TNM system {Tumor size (T1, T2, T3, T4), extent of spread to

regional Lymph Nodes (N0, N1, N2), and the absence or presence of

distant Metastases (M0, M1)}

~ AJC (American Joint Committee) system where cancers are divided

into stages 0-IV, incorporating the size of primary lesions and the

presence of nodal spread and of distant metastases.

Category: Pathology Notes