Cancer Health Center

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Stage IV

Stage IV is divided into stages IVA, IVB, and IVC as follows:

• Stage IVA:
  • The tumor may be any size and may have spread to soft tissue around the affected gland. Cancer has spread to a single lymph node on the same side as the tumor and the lymph node is larger than 3 centimeters but not larger than 6 centimeters, or has spread to more than one lymph node on either or both sides of the body and the lymph nodes are not larger than 6 centimeters; or
  • Cancer has spread to the skin, jawbone, ear canal, and/or facial nerve, and may have spread to one or more lymph nodes on either or both sides of the body. The lymph nodes are not larger than 6 centimeters.
• Stage IVB:
  • The tumor may be any size and may have spread to soft tissue around the affected gland. Cancer has spread to a lymph node larger than 6 centimeters; or
  • Cancer has spread to the base of the skull and/or the carotid artery, and may have spread to one or more lymph nodes of any size on either or both sides of the body.
• Stage IVC:
  • The tumor may be any size and may have spread to soft tissue around the affected gland, to the skin, jawbone, ear canal, facial nerve, base of the skull, or carotid artery, or to one or more lymph nodes on either or both sides of the body. Cancer has spread to distant parts of the body.

Salivary gland cancers are also grouped by grade. The grade of a tumor tells how fast the cancer cells are growing, based on how the cells look under a microscope. Low-grade cancers grow more slowly than high-grade cancers.

Minor salivary gland cancers are staged according to where they were first found in the body.