How to stage thyroid cancer? What are the common manifestations of different stages of thyroid cancer?

Thyroid cancer is staged based on the size of the thyroid tumor, whether the thyroid cancer has lymph node metastasis, and distant metastasis. It is divided into T0, T1, T2, T3, and T4 stages based on the size of the thyroid tumor; it is divided into N0 and N1 stages based on whether the lymph nodes have metastasized; and it is divided into M0 and M1 stages based on whether the cancer cells have distant metastasis.

Thyroid cancer is a common malignant tumor disease. It needs timely treatment after being diagnosed, otherwise the survival period will be seriously shortened. After suffering from thyroid cancer, the lymphoma will be staged clinically according to factors such as the size of the tumor itself, whether it has broken through the capsule, and whether metastasis has occurred. Different stages have different severity and treatment methods. So, how is thyroid cancer staged?

1. Staging based on thyroid tumor size

1. TX stage: When clinically staging based on the size of the thyroid tumor, it is represented by T. TX means that the size of the tumor cannot be assessed.

2.T0 stage: T0 indicates that the thyroid gland is normal and there is no evidence of primary tumor.

3. Stage T1: If a tumor is found in the thyroid gland during examination, and the diameter of the tumor is less than or equal to 2 cm, and there is no metastasis, but it is confined to the thyroid gland, it is stage T1.

4. Stage T2: If the diameter of the thyroid cancer tumor is greater than or equal to 2 cm and less than or equal to 4 cm, and is confined to the thyroid gland, it is stage T2.

5. Stage T3: If the diameter of the thyroid tumor is larger than 4 cm, it is confined to the thyroid gland or there is invasion of the surrounding tissues of the thyroid gland, it is classified as stage T3.

6.T4 stage: Regardless of the size of the thyroid tumor, as long as the tumor exceeds the capsule of the thyroid gland and invades the subcutaneous tissue, soft tissue, recurrent laryngeal nerve, etc., it is classified as T4a; if the tumor invades the carotid artery and mediastinal blood vessels, it is classified as T4b. All undifferentiated carcinomas are T4 tumors.

2. Staging based on the presence or absence of lymph node metastasis

1. N0: When thyroid cancer is serious, it will metastasize to the surrounding lymph nodes. If it is N0, it means there is no regional lymph node metastasis.

2. N1: If N1 indicates regional lymph node metastasis, it is N1a if the cancer cells metastasize to the lymph nodes before trachea, paratrachea and before laryngeal cancer; if the cancer cells metastasize to the lateral neck or upper mediastinal lymph nodes, it is N1b.

3.NX: If the examination result shows NX, it means that it is impossible to assess whether lymph node metastasis has occurred.

3. Staging based on presence or absence of distant metastasis

1.M0: Clinically, M is used to represent whether there is distant metastasis. If it is M0, it means there is no distant metastasis.

2.M1: If the test results show M1, it means that the condition is serious and distant metastasis has occurred.

3.MX: If MX is shown on the examination report, it means that it is impossible to assess whether distant metastasis has occurred.