V.5.2 Staging Definitions

Terms commonly used to describe stage include:

Invasion

Local spread of a neoplasm by infiltration into or destruction of adjacent tissue.

Microinvasive

The earliest invasive stage. Applied to cervical cancer, describes a small cancer that has invaded the stroma to a limited extent. The FIGO stage is IA. See Section V.3.4.3 and Section V.5.9.4.

Direct Extension

A continuous infiltration or growth from the primary site into other tissue or organs (compare to metastasis).

Metastasis

Dissemination of tumor cells in a discontinuous fashion from the primary site to other parts of the body—for example, by way of the circulatory system or a lymphatic system.

Regional

Organs or tissues related to a site by physical proximity. Also applies to the first chain of lymph nodes draining the area of the site.

 

 

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