How is small intestine adenocarcinoma staged?
Staging is a process that tells the doctor how widespread your cancer may be when you are first diagnosed. It will show if the cancer has spread and how far. The treatment and outlook for small intestine cancer depends, to a large extent, on its stage. For early stage cancer, surgery may be all that is needed. For more advanced cancer, other treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, may be required. Please be sure to ask your doctor to explain the stage of your cancer so that you can make the best choice about your treatment. The staging system used is that of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC). It is also called the TNM system. Stages are described using Roman numerals I through IV. This staging system describes the spread of the cancer in relation to the layers of the wall of the small intestine. Because for most patients, this stage is unknown until after surgery, most doctors wait till then to decide on the cancer’s stage. The stages described below are call
