Staging is part of the diagnosis process. It tells us how advanced a cancer is. It describes the tumor’s size, location, and how far it has spread. Staging helps your care team choose the best treatment and follow-up care for you.

Your doctor will give you a physical exam and review the results of your diagnostic and imaging tests. Then they will decide the stage of the cancer. They may adjust the stage if you have surgery or more tests.

There are 5 stages of stomach cancer, from 0 to 4. The lower the number, the less the cancer has spread, and the easier it is to treat. Stomach cancer stages also are described as 0, I, II, III, IV, and V.

Our gastric cancer experts use the TNM system to describe the stage of a cancer:

• T describes the main tumor. It tells how deep the tumor is in the layers of the stomach’s wall.
• N describes whether the tumor has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
• M describes whether cancer has metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body.

What is stage 0 stomach cancer?

The scale starts at stage 0. There are cells that do not look normal, or some cancer cells on the mucosa (inner lining of the stomach). This stage is also known as carcinoma in situ. In situ (in SY-too) are words in Latin that mean “in its original place.”

What is stage 1 stomach cancer?

At this early stomach cancer stage, the tumor has spread from the mucosa layer of cells into the next layers. It’s most likely no spread to any nearby lymph nodes. But it’s possible it has spread only to 1 or 2 nearby nodes. It’s not in other parts of the body.

What is stage 2 stomach cancer?

Stage 2 cancer has spread to other layers. It may have spread to nearby lymph nodes. It has not spread to other organs or to lymph nodes far away.

What is stage 3 stomach cancer?

Stage 3 stomach cancer has spread to other layers and to nearby lymph nodes. It has not spread to other organs or to lymph nodes far away.

What is stage 4 stomach cancer?

Stage 4 stomach cancer is advanced cancer. It has spread to other organs or to lymph nodes far away. Stage 4 is also called metastatic stomach cancer. It starts when cancer cells travel throughout the body through the lymphatic or blood systems. Stomach cancer cell tumors form in other parts of the body.

The 5-year relative survival rate for people with metastatic (late-stage) stomach cancer is low, only 7%. That means out of every 100 people diagnosed with this type of advanced stomach cancer, only 7 will still be alive in 5 years. In general, they’re much less likely to be alive in 5 years than people like them who did not have stomach cancer.