Grading vs. Staging

djmammo

Some definitions:

"Grading is a way of classifying cancer cells. The pathologist gives the cancer a grade based on how different they look from normal cells (differentiation), how quickly they are growing and dividing, and how likely they are to spread. (How aggressive is the cancer?)"

"Staging is a way of describing or classifying a cancer based on the extent of cancer in the body. The stage is often based on the size of the tumour, whether the cancer has spread (metastasized) from where it started to other parts of the body and where it has spread. Stages are based on specific factors for each type of cancer. (TNM staging system – T = Tumor; N = node involvement and M = metastastic spread)"

See more at : https://oti-oncologytraining.com/2016/11/29/grading-vs-staging/

thisiknow

Nice post of basic knowledge good to know. But I do have a hard time with that word 'differentiation'... to me it speaks just the opposite of what it means. One of my little tumors is "well-differentiated"...which to me should mean it's well different from what the healthy cells look like, but just the opposite is actually true. If I had to use that word every day I'd have to start thinking very differently about it. (inadvertent pun) Thanks for your informative post.

djmammo

thisiknow

Yes, well-differentiated is good news. The differentiation is compared to the pluripotential (stem) cells that can become any other cells in the body that are present in early embryologic stages. So well differentiated means it is sufficiently matured compared to that cell/more like a normal breast cell that it may behave more like a normal breast cell than one that has veered off into left field (poorly differentiated).

IMO this is the main problem with Dr. Google. Without a certain depth of knowledge of a subject many terms and concepts may be misunderstood. At times it is akin to the concept of "faux amis" and idiomatic expressions that tortured us in French class. Even though it translates to one thing, it actually means something completely different, and worst of all it may mean the complete opposite.

"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." --Inigo Montoya / The Princess Bride

thisiknow

And two years of New Testament Greek (to read only) was easy compared to this. And then you throw in pluripotential just for fun I suppose.

I appreciate your good intentIons to make the complex simple!