MESOTHELIOMA STAGES

Stages of Mesothelioma

The staging of pleural mesothelioma is different to the staging of peritoneal mesothelioma.

There are two main staging systems in use for pleural mesothelioma. These are called the TNM system and the Brigham system. The system that is mostly commonly used is the TNM system. Specialists generally don't use the Brigham system any more, but we've left it in here for now in case your own doctor refers to it.

The TNM system

This is also sometimes called the International Mesothelioma Interest Group staging system.
The TNM system is the staging system most commonly used in cancer staging generally. The TNM system describes the extent of the primary tumour (T), the absence or presence of cancer in nearby lymph nodes (N), and the absence or presence of distant metastases (M).

Once the TNM categories have been decided, this information is grouped together to give the stage. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 is the most advanced stage.

* Mesothelioma Stage 1 affects one layer of the pleura only. It may have grown into the covering of the heart (pericardium) and the diaphragm

* Mesothelioma Stage 2 has spread to both layers of the pleura on one side of the body only

* Mesothelioma Stage 3 has spread to the chest wall, food pipe (oesophagus) or lymph nodes on the same side of the chest

* Mesothelioma Stage 4 has spread via the bloodstream to other organs in the body such as the liver, brain or bone or to lymph nodes on the other side of the chest

The Brigham staging system

This is based on whether the mesothelioma can be removed by surgery and whether the lymph nodes are involved or not. Again there are four stages, which are similar to the TNM system.

* Stage 1 mesothelioma can be removed with surgery and there are no lymph nodes containing cancer cells

* Stage 2 mesothelioma can be removed with surgery but there are lymph nodes containing cancer cells

* Stage 3 mesothelioma cannot be removed with surgery because it has spread into the chest wall, heart, or through the diaphragm into the peritoneum. There may or may not be lymph nodes containing cancer cells

* Stage 4 mesothelioma has spread via the bloodstream to other organs in the body such as the liver, brain or bone

There is no established staging system for peritoneal mesothelioma. If your cancer is staged it may be done according to the TNM system. The TNM system is the staging system most commonly used in cancer. The TNM system describes the extent of the primary tumour (T), the absence or presence of cancer in nearby lymph nodes (N), and the absence or presence of distant metastases (M).