Question

Dr. Duke is an oncologist. He recently biopsied tissue from a tumor on Sara’s face. He told her that her tumor is malignant but that it still looks very much like its parent tissue. he also told her that T is less than 1, N is 0, and M is 0. What can she tell about her prognosis from this information?

Answer 1

The oncologists use TNM staging to describe the stages of a cancer.

T= tumor

T score describes the extent of primary tumor. If the primary tumor is not treated, it can extent to nearby structures and it is called invasion.

T0 score means there is no primary tumor, but possibility of cancer cells are there.

N= Nodes

N scoring describes the extent of involvement of lymph node by cancer cells.

N0 means no cancer cells found in nearby lymph nodes.

M=metastasis

This describes the extent of spread of cancer cells to other sites or organs.

M0 means no cancer found on distant sites.

The patient staging is T less than 1 means 0, N0 and Mo

T₀ M₀ N₀ is a sign for positive prognosis. The cancer cells may be found only inside the specific biopsied part only. It is not found in lymph nodes or any other sites. So surgical removal of the facial tumor once the biopsy is positive for malignant cells, will give a positive result.