Patients who have mesothelioma can be treated for their cancer in a wide variety of ways. In order to determine which type of treatment is the best for a particular patient and their cancer physicians use a system called “staging”. This is where a cancer is ranked as to the stage it is in by examining different variable regarding the growth and spread of the cancer. There are three different staging systems which are generally used when a patient has the most common for of the cancer which pleura which initially affect the lungs and the lining which surrounds it.

The Staging Systems

There are three staging systems used in conjunction with pleura mesothelioma. The most common is the TNM system, which stands for tumor, nodes, and metastasis. Another system is the Buchard system which is used primarily when this cancer has spread to other parts of the body on the same side as the initial tumor found in the lung area. The Bingham system is the one which is generally used when the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes of a patient, or when the cancer is in one of the most advanced stages.

Common Factors

In all three of the staging systems which are used in cases of pleura mesothelioma there are some common factors which are examined to determine the stage of the cancer. Some of these factors include determining the initial location of the tumor which the cancer formed. Other factors include the size of the tumor, the affect it has had on the lymph nodes, the cell types of the cancer, and whether or not the cancer has metastasized and affected the bloodstream of the patient. All of this information is gathered and used with addition information gathered in a through examination of the cancer and the masses which have formed from it.

Summary Staging

Summary staging is something which is used in all of the staging systems for pleura mesothelioma. The summary staging is divided into five groups. These groups are In Situ which is a cancer that has only appeared on the layer of cells where it first formed. The second group is the localized group where the cancer has only affected the lung and has not spread to other areas. The third group is regional cancer which has spread to other areas of the body on the side as the initial tumor. The fourth group is referred to as the distant group where the cancer has spread to other distant areas of the body. The fifth group is the unknown group which is the group cancers are placed in when physicians are unable to determine the stage of a cancer through examination.

Methods Used

Some of the methods used to determine the staging of a cancer and the group in which it falls into are the physical examination of a patient and the use of imaging technology. Laboratory tests and even pathology testing are used in the various staging systems for this cancer.