Evaluation of suspected malignancies
Author:
Mikael Häggström [note 1]
Further reading: |
The most important aspects of a tumor is whether it is malignant or not, and staging.
Staging
The primary focus of tumor evaluation is to distinguish benign from malignant types, and in case of malignancy the primary focus is to determine its stage, generally by the TNM classification:[1]
T: size or direct extent of the primary tumor
N: degree of spread to regional lymph nodes
M: presence of distant metastasis
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Typing and grading
Beyond determining overall malignancy, probable origin and staging, classification of tumors into a specific histopathologic type or grade is of relatively less value. In cases of clearly non-malignant tumors where it is difficult to determine the specific histopathologic type or grade, it is generally acceptable to conclude the evaluation and report it as such, unless the clinician specifically requests otherwise. For potentially malignant or high-risk tumors, typing and grading often still affects the management.
Notes
- ↑ For a full list of contributors, see article history. Creators of images are attributed at the image description pages, seen by clicking on the images. See Patholines:Authorship for details.
Main page
References
- ↑ . Cancer staging. National Cancer Institute. Retrieved on 4 January 2013.
Image sources