Stages
The treatment and outlook for patients with mesothelioma depends greatly on the stage of their cancer. Because pleural mesothelioma is the most frequently occurring type, it is the only type for which a staging system exists. The following stages are based on the Butchart system which divides mesothelioma into four stages.
- Stage I - Mesothelioma is found within the right or left pleura and may also be found in the lung, the pericardium or the diaphragm on the same side.
- Stage II - In stage II mesothelioma, the cancer has spread to the chest wall or involves the esophagus, the heart or the pleura on both sides. The lymph nodes within the chest may also be involved.
- Stage III - Mesothelioma has spread through the diaphragm and into the lining of the abdominal cavity. Additional lymph nodes aside from those in the chest may be involved.
- Stage IV - The most severe case of mesothelioma where there is evidence that the cancer has spread through the bloodstream to distant organs or tissues.
