According to the American Cancer Society, "The stage of cancer is a description of how widespread it is. The stage of a liver cancer is one of the most important factors in considering treatment options. A staging system is a standard way for the cancer care team to sum up information about how far a cancer has spread. Doctors use staging systems to get an idea about a patient's prognosis (outlook) and to help determine the most appropriate treatment. There are several staging systems for liver cancer, and not all doctors use the same system."Liver biopsy as well as imaging studies help in classifying liver cancer stages as per the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM system, the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) staging system, the Cancer of the Liver Italian Program (CLIP) system, or the Okuda system.