The liver cancer staging is done based on the TNM system of staging.
The TNM system of staging has the following factors:
Tumor (T): This determines how large the cancer has grown or if there is more than one tumor in the liver or if the cancer has reached nearby structures in the liver like the veins.
Lymph nodes (N): This factor indicates if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes.
Metastasis (M): This factor refers to whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
Liver cancer staging is done usually based on the results of the biopsies, physical exam, and imaging tests. If surgery is conducted, the pathological state is determined by examining the tissue that was removed during the surgery.
Stage 2
Stage 2 liver cancer does not have any sub stages and has the following TNM categories:
T2:
Either a single tumor of size 2 cm or more has grown into the nearby blood vessels or more that one tumor, but none larger than 5 cm is found.
N0:
The cancer has not spread to the nearby lymph nodes
M0:
The cancer has not spread to distant sites.
