Guide To Understanding Pancreatic Cancer Stages
The pancreas is an organ in the upper abdomen that is responsible for the production and secretion of certain kinds of hormones and digestive enzymes. Pancreatic cancer that develops in the cells responsible for the digestive enzymes is called exocrine pancreatic cancer and includes adenocarcinomas, acinar cell carcinoma, ampullary cancer, adenosquamous carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and giant cell carcinomas. Pancreatic cancer that develops in the cells responsible for hormones is called endocrine pancreatic cancer and includes insulinomas, glucagonomas, gastrinomas, somatostatinomas, and VIPomas. Blood, urine, and stool tests may be used to help make a pancreatic cancer diagnosis along with endoscopic ultrasound, CT scans, MRI scans, PET scans, x-rays, an angiogram, and a tissue biopsy. Once a pancreatic cancer diagnosis has been confirmed, the size, direct extent, degree of lymph node infiltration, and degree of distant organ involvement will be evaluated to determine the stage of cancer.
Get the details on the different stages of pancreatic cancer now.
Stage 0
Stage 0 pancreatic cancer and carcinoma in situ are terms used to describe abnormal cells contained within the pancreatic lining. These abnormal cells may also be referred to as precancerous cells by some physicians. The precancerous cells are strictly isolated to the surface layer cells of the pancreatic ducts. Most diagnostic imaging tests like x-ray, CT scans, MRI scans, and PET scans cannot detect stage 0 pancreatic cancer. During surgery, stage 0 pancreatic cancer is often unable to be seen and identified by the naked eye. The stage grouping used to refer to stage 0 pancreatic cancer in affected individuals is Tis, N0, and M0. These stages mean the cancer has not spread to any nearby lymph nodes or distant regions of the body. Stage 0 pancreatic cancer is often excluded from the pancreatic malignancy category and can only be detected during a microscopic biopsy of the pancreatic duct cells.
Learn about stage 1 pancreatic cancer next.
Stage 1
Stage 1 pancreatic cancer describes pancreatic cancer that has not exceeded the size of four centimeters. Stage 1 is further grouped into stage 1A and stage 1B. When a pancreatic tumor is limited to the inside of the pancreas, and its size measures less than two centimeters or four-fifths of an inch, it is referred to as stage 1A pancreatic cancer. Stage 1A pancreatic cancer can also be abbreviated by a stage grouping of T1, N0, and M0. When pancreatic cancer is confined to the inside of the pancreas and measures between two centimeters and four centimeters or one and three-fifths inches in size, it is referred to as stage 1B pancreatic cancer. Stage 1B pancreatic cancer has a stage grouping of T2, N0, and M0. Both the N and M stage grouping remain at 0 in individuals with pancreatic cancer stages 1A and 1B because the malignancy has not moved into neighboring lymph nodes or any other tissue outside of the pancreas.
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Stage 2
Stage 2 pancreatic cancer is a stage of cancer that is separated into stage 2A and stage 2B. When an affected individual's pancreatic tumor has grown larger than a size of four centimeters or one and three-fifths inches across but has not spread to the lymph nodes or other distant regions, it is referred to as stage 2A pancreatic cancer. Stage 2A pancreatic cancer has a stage grouping of T3, N0, and M0. Stage 2B pancreatic cancer is defined by a tumor no larger than two centimeters in diameter that has not spread into more than three neighboring lymph nodes with a stage grouping of T1, N1, and M0. A pancreatic tumor with a diameter measurement between two centimeters and four centimeters that has not spread to more than three neighboring lymph nodes with a stage grouping of T2, N1, and M0 has also been classified as stage 2B pancreatic cancer. In addition, stage 2B pancreatic cancer can describe a tumor with a diameter measurement of larger than four centimeters that has not spread to any more than three neighboring lymph nodes and has a stage grouping of T3, N1, and M0.
Continue reading to learn about stage 3 pancreatic cancer next.
Stage 3
Four different stage groupings are included in the stage 3 classification of pancreatic cancer. A pancreatic tumor measuring two centimeters or less in diameter that has spread to four or higher neighboring lymph nodes with a stage grouping of T1, N2, and M0 is considered stage 3 pancreatic cancer. A pancreatic tumor measuring between two and four centimeters in diameter that has spread to four or higher lymph nodes with a stage grouping of T2, N2, and M0 is another example of stage 3 pancreatic cancer. A pancreatic tumor measuring larger than four centimeters in diameter that has spread to four or more neighboring lymph nodes with a stage grouping of T3, N2, and M0 is considered stage 3 pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, pancreatic cancer that has started growing beyond the tissues of the pancreas into neighboring major blood vessels and may or may not be present in neighboring lymph nodes with a stage grouping of T4, N0-N2, and M0 is considered stage 3 pancreatic cancer.
Get familiar with stage 4 pancreatic cancer next.
Stage 4
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer is the most advanced and final stage in the cancer staging system. Pancreatic cancer is considered to be stage 4 when it has metastasized to distant organs and regions of the body. Stage 4 pancreatic cancer may or may not have spread to neighboring lymph nodes and can measure any size. The stage grouping that defines stage 4 pancreatic cancer is T1-T4, N0-N2, and M1. The most common sites of pancreatic cancer metastasis are the lungs, bowel, spleen, stomach, bones, liver, abdominal cavity lining. Over half of all individuals who develop pancreatic cancer receive a stage 4 diagnosis. It is estimated between one and three individuals out of every one hundred will still be alive five years following a stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Considering that numerous individual factors influence survival, the median survival rate of stage 4 pancreatic cancer is between three and six months following diagnosis. There is no way to cure stage 4 pancreatic cancer, but some treatments may improve life expectancy and quality.