Once cancer is found, more tests will be conducted to find out if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. This testing is called staging. The doctor needs to know the stage of the disease to plan treatment. The higher the stage, the more advanced the cancer.
Stage combines tumor extent, size, and grade.
The more different the cancer cells look from normal cells, the higher the grade. The cancer cells look very much like normal cells in that they are well-differentiated. The cancer cells look somewhat different from normal cells in that they are moderately well-differentiated. The cancer may be more than 5 centimeters, but it has not spread to lymph nodes or other parts of the body. The cancer cells look very different from normal cells in that they are poorly differentiated or undifferentiated.