Bladder Cancer Staging Explanation

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Stages of cancer of the bladder

Once cancer of the bladder has been diagnosed, more tests will be done to find out if cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body (staging). To plan treatment, a doctor needs to know the stage of the disease. The following stages are used for cancer of the bladder:

Stage 0 or carcinoma in situ

Stage 0 is very early cancer. The cancer is found only on the inner lining of the bladder. After the cancer is taken out, no swelling or lumps are felt during an internal examination.

Stage I

Cancer cells have spread a little deeper into the inner lining of the bladder but have not spread to the muscular wall of the bladder.

Stage II

Cancer cells have spread to the inside lining of the muscles lining the bladder.

Stage III

Cancer cells have spread throughout the muscular wall of the bladder, to the layer of tissue surrounding the bladder and/or to the nearby reproductive organs. A doctor may feel for swelling or lumps after a patient has had an operation to take out the cancer.

Stage IV

Cancer cells have spread to the wall of the abdomen or pelvis or to the lymph nodes in the area. (Lymph nodes are small, bean-shaped structures that are found throughout the body; they produce and store infection-fighting cells.) The cancer may have also spread to lymph nodes and other parts of the body far away from the bladder.

Recurrent

Recurrent disease means that the cancer has come back (recurred) after it has been treated. It may come back in the original place or in another part of the body.

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