Knowing the different pancreatic cancer stages can help you to better understand what fuels your doctor's decision to recommend certain treatments and specialists. Staging is, to some extent, a way of describing exactly where the cancer is located throughout the body, and whether it has spread from its original position. Typically, doctors will use diagnostic tests as a way of understanding the cancer's stage, so it may take some time before a health professional can determine what stage you are at.

However, by examining the different pancreatic cancer stages, a doctor can determine which form of treatment is the most appropriate and may even be able to declare the prognosis for the patient. Importantly, there are many different ways to describe the pancreatic cancer stages. Typically, the TNM classification may not be used for staging pancreatic cancer in the same way that it would be used for other cancers. In fact, the more common way for doctors to classify pancreatic cancer is to divide it into categories based on where it has spread, and whether or not the tumor can be removed through surgery.

Stages of Cancer:

For example, the first type of pancreatic cancer is known as resectable cancer, and this is the form of tumor that can be removed surgically. Typically, in these circumstances, the tumor is located only within the pancreas, or extends beyond the pancreas, but has not yet grown out into important veins or arteries in the area. On average, up to 15% of patients are diagnosed with this stage of pancreatic cancer.

The next stage for pancreatic cancer patients is known as "borderline resectable". As the name might imply, the category describes a tumor that may be difficult to remove, or impossible to destroy using surgery when it's first discovered. However, in these circumstances, after radiation therapy and chemotherapy have been used to help shrink the tumor, it may be possible to remove a borderline resectable tumor at a later time.

The next stage of pancreatic cancer is "locally advanced". Again, this type of cancer will only be found in the area that is around the pancreas, but it is often impossible for it to be removed through surgery because the tumors have grown into nearby organs or veins. However, in most cases, there will not be any sign that this cancer has spread to distant parts of the body. Approximately up to 40% of patients will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at this stage.

Finally, the metastatic stage of pancreatic cancer means that the tumor has spread beyond the pancreas and into other organs, such as distant areas of the abdomen, or the liver.

Classifying Cancer into Stages:

By classifying pancreatic cancer into a series of separate stages, it is easier for your health care team, including cancer specialists, to determine the best plan for treating the disease. By looking at where the pancreatic cancer is, whether it can be removed and whether it has spread, your doctor will be able to come up with a comprehensive treatment strategy specifically for your needs.