Breast Cancer Health Center

Tools & Resources

Font Size

Stages of Breast Cancer

After breast cancer has been diagnosed, tests are done to find out if cancer cells have spread within the breast or to other parts of the body.

The process used to find out if the cancer has spread within the breast or to other parts of the body is called staging. The information gathered from the staging process determines the stage of the disease. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment.

Methods used to stage breast cancer can be changed to make them safer for the fetus.

Standard methods for giving imaging scans can be adjusted so that the fetus is exposed to less radiation. Tests to measure the level of hormones in the blood may also be used in the staging process.

There are three ways that cancer spreads in the body.

The three ways that cancer spreads in the body are:

Through tissue. Cancer invades the surrounding normal tissue.
Through the lymph system. Cancer invades the lymph system and travels through the lymph vessels to other places in the body.
Through the blood. Cancer invades the veins and capillaries and travels through the blood to other places in the body.

When cancer cells break away from the primary (original) tumor and travel through the lymph or blood to other places in the body, another (secondary) tumor may form. This process is called metastasis. The secondary (metastatic) tumor is the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if breast cancer spreads to the bones, the cancer cells in the bones are actually breast cancer cells. The disease is metastatic breast cancer, not bone cancer.

The following stages are used for breast cancer:

Stage 0 (carcinoma in situ)

There are 2 types of breast carcinoma in situ:

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a noninvasivecondition in which abnormalcells are found in the lining of a breastduct. The abnormal cells have not spread outside the duct to other tissues in the breast. In some cases, DCIS may become invasive cancer and spread to other tissues, although it is not known at this time how to predict which lesions will become invasive.
Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) is a condition in which abnormalcells are found in the lobules of the breast. This condition seldom becomes invasive cancer; however, having lobular carcinoma in situ in one breast increases the risk of developing breast cancer in either breast.

Pea, peanut, walnut, and lime show tumor sizes.

Stage I

In stage I, cancer has formed. Stage I is divided into stages IA and IB.

In stage IA, the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller and has not spread outside the breast.
In stage IB, either:
- no tumor is found in the breast, but small clusters of cancercells (larger than 0.2 millimeter but not larger than 2 millimeters) are found in the lymph nodes; or
- the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller and small clusters of cancer cells (larger than 0.2 millimeter but not larger than 2 millimeters) are found in the lymph nodes.

1 | 2 | 3

Next Page >

WebMD Public Information from the National Cancer Institute

Last Updated: October 07, 2011

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.