
This number provides additional information:Ĭancer cells in the lymph nodes usually indicate that cancer is spreading. When a doctor uses the TNM system, they will place a number after each letter.

Healthcare professionals also break stages into further subcategories, using a, b, and c. Stave 4 is when cancer has spread to areas that are distant from the original tumor.The higher the stage, the larger and more extensive the cancer is. Stage 1, 2, and 3 indicate that cancer is present.Stage 0, or carcinoma in situ (CIS), is when abnormal cells are present but have not spread.There are different ways of staging cancer, for example:

The stages of cancer indicate how far cancer has traveled from its original location. Research indicates that osteosarcomas, a form of bone cancer, only involve the lymph nodes in 4–11% of cases. Some spread quickly to the lymph nodes, while others develop and spread more slowly. The rate that cancer spreads to a person’s lymph nodes may depend on the type of cancer. When does cancer spread to the lymph nodes?
