What are the stages of lung cancer? Divided into these four stages

The staging of lung cancer depends on its type. If it is small cell lung cancer, its staging can be divided into limited stage and advanced stage. The condition of limited stage is relatively mild, while the condition of advanced stage is relatively serious. If it is non-small cell lung cancer, its staging can be divided into four stages, namely stage I lung cancer, stage II lung cancer, stage III lung cancer and stage IV lung cancer, which is based on the size of the tumor and the degree of spread.

For people with lung cancer, if they want to achieve better treatment results, they should understand its histological type, clinical stage, and the patient's physical health status. Among them, the staging of lung cancer is a key indicator and is even directly related to the choice of treatment. So what is the staging of lung cancer?
1. Staging of small cell lung cancer
1. Limited stage <br/>The limited stage of small cell lung cancer means that the tumor is limited to one lung and may have metastasized to the surrounding lymph nodes, but has not appeared in the other lung or other parts of the body.
2. Progressive stage <br/>The progressive stage and limited stage of small cell lung cancer correspond to each other. It means that the tumor appears in both lungs and has also metastasized to the chest cavity, and even distant metastasis has occurred, such as brain metastasis, bone metastasis, etc.
2. Staging of non-small cell lung cancer
1. Stage I lung cancer
Stage I lung cancer is actually a relatively small tumor that appears in the lungs and has not spread to the lymph nodes. It can also be divided into two sub-stages according to the size of the tumor, namely stage IA and stage IB. If the diameter of the tumor does not exceed 3 cm, it is stage IA. If the diameter exceeds 3 cm but is less than 5 cm, it is stage IB.
2. Stage II lung cancer
Stage II lung cancer tumors also have two sub-stages, namely stage IIA and stage IIB. Stage IIA tumors are between 5 cm and 7 cm in diameter and have not spread to nearby lymph nodes; if the diameter is within 5 cm, but has spread to nearby lymph nodes, it can also be classified as stage IIA lung cancer. Stage IIB means that the diameter of the tumor is between 5 and 7 cm and has spread to nearby lymph nodes, or the diameter is more than 7 cm, but has not spread to nearby lymph nodes, but at this time it may invade other tissues in the lungs.
3. Stage III lung cancer
Although stage III lung cancer has not undergone distant metastasis, compared with stage II, various serious tumor conditions have appeared. Although there are two substages, IIIA and IIIB, the condition is relatively serious and it is difficult to completely remove the cancerous tissue through surgery.
4. Stage IV lung cancer
Stage IV lung cancer can be said to be in the late stage of lung cancer. At this time, the cancer cells have spread significantly. According to the range of spread, it is also divided into two sub-stages, namely stage IVA and stage IVB. Stage IVA means that the cancer cells have spread to the chest cavity, and stage IVB means that the cancer cells have spread outside the chest cavity.