Mesothelioma - The Staging Process

Once tests are carried out, and a diagnosis confirmed, specialists will also be able to know more about the size and position of the cancer and if it appears to have spread to nearby tissues or to other, more distant, areas of the body. This is often known as the ‘staging’ process.

This information can be helpful in finding out how much the patient is affected by the disease and, in making recommendations for treatment. It will also help, in the future, to assess how effective any treatment has been.

Stages of Mesothelioma

There are different ways that Mesothelioma can be staged but often hospitals follow the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (IMIG) staging system which, following tests, categorises the disease as follows: -

Stage one:  Disease limited to the pleura only on one side of the chest.

Stage two:  Disease limited to the pleura on one side of the chest but the cancer cells have extended from the pleura into the underlying lung tissue or muscle of the diaphragm.

Stage three:  The cancer has either spread beyond the pleura to glands in the chest and/or has advanced deeper into the tissues surrounding the pleura.

Stage four:  The cancer has spread to distant organs or tissues or invaded deeply into tissues close to the pleura e.g. across the diaphragm into the abdomen, into the pleura of the opposite lung or into the spine or heart muscle.

Contents