CancerQuest >> Cancer by Type >> Colon and Rectal Cancer

Colon and Rectal Cancer: Staging

The Pathology Report

If there is a suspicion that a patient may have colorectal cancer, a sample of of tissue (biopsy) may be taken for examination. After a biopsy is taken, the physician who performed the biopsy sends the specimen to a pathologist. The pathologist examines the specimens at both the macroscopic (visible with the naked eye) and microscopic (requiring magnification) levels and then sends a pathology report to the physician. The report contains information about the tissue's appearance, cellular make up, and whether or not the sample appears to be normal or abnormal. For more information about the pathology report, refer to the Diagnosis & Detection chapter of this site.

Adenocarcinoma arising within a gland of an adenoma of the colon: Note the very dark staining of the malignant cells, and the presence of nuclei at all levels within the cells. Compare the cells of the adenoma (top of the gland) with the carcinoma cells (bottom portion of the gland)
(Image courtesy of: C. Whitaker Sewell, MD - Professor of Pathology, Emory University School of Medicine)

Staging

Staging a cancer is a way of describing the extent of the disease. One of the most common methods used for colorectal cancer staging is called the T/N/M system, which assigns a degree of severity based on the size, location, and spread of cancer in the body. Other, less widely used methods for colorectal cancer staging are the Dukes system and the Astler-Coller system. Details of the T/N/M system can be found in the Diagnosis & Detection chapter of this site.

For more details on cancer staging visit the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.