Medically Reviewed by Dr. K on 25 March 2021
Table of contents
Breast Cancer Stages
- Early-stage, stage 0, or noninvasive breast cancer. There are no indications that the illness has progressed to the lymph nodes and it is just in the breast (carcinoma in situ).
- Stage I breast cancer. The cancer is smaller than 2 centimetres in diameter and hasn’t spread.
- Stage IIA breast cancer. The tumour is:
- Smaller than 2 centimetres in diameter, and underarm lymph node involvement.
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- Without lymph node involvement, larger than 2 but smaller than 5 centimetres wide.
- Stage IIB breast cancer. The tumour is:
- Without involvement of the underarm lymph nodes, more than 5 centimetres across.
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- Lymph node involvement, greater than 2 but less than 5 centimetres across.
- Stage IIIA breast cancer or locally advanced breast cancer:
- A tumour that has spread to lymph nodes under the arm or near the breastbone and is greater than 5 centimetres.
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- Any tumour of any scale of cancerous lymph nodes that adhere to one another or to surrounding tissue.
- Stage IIIB breast cancer. A tumour that has extended to the skin or chest wall.
- Stage IIIC breast cancer. A tumour that has extended farther and involves lymph nodes extension.
- Stage IV (metastatic) breast cancer. A tumour that has extended farther and to other organs like lungs, bones, brains, liver or other distant lymph nodes.
Sources
Referenced on 25.3.2021
- American Cancer Society: “Learn about Cancer: Breast Cancer."
- National Cancer Institute: “Breast Cancer."
- CDC: “Breast Cancer."
- BreastCancer.org: “Breast Cancer Stages,” “IDC Type: Cribriform Carcinoma of the Breast,” “IDC Type: Medullary Carcinoma of the Breast,” “IDC Type: Mucinous Carcinoma of the Breast,” “IDC Type: Papillary Carcinoma of the Breast,” “IDC Type: Tubular Carcinoma of the Breast,” “Male Breast Cancer,” “Metastatic Breast Cancer,” “Molecular Subtypes of Breast Cancer,” “Phyllodes Tumors of the Breast,” “U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics”
- Cleveland Clinic: “Breast Cancer.”
- Breast Cancer Prevention Partners: “Breast Cancer Subtypes.”
- CDC: “Breast Cancer: How Is Breast Cancer Diagnosed?”
- American Cancer Society: “What Is Breast Cancer?”
- Association of Directors of Anatomic and Surgical Pathology: “Breast Cancer,” “Breast Cancer In-Situ.”
- National Cancer Institute: “Cancer Stat Facts: Female Breast Cancer.”
- Mayo Clinic: “Breast cancer.”
- https://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/understanding-breast-cancer-basics
