Stage

Same as elevation or depth of water. The height of a water surface above an established datum. See water surface elevation and gage height.

The level of the water surface above a given datum at a given location.

The extent of a cancer in the body. Staging is usually based on the size of the tumor, whether lymph nodes contain cancer, and whether the cancer has spread from the original site to other parts of the body.

(STAY'-juh) is the extent of a cancer within the body. If the cancer has spread, the stage describes how far it has spread from the original site to other parts of the body.

Stage provides a measure of disease progression, detailing the degree to which the cancer has advanced. Two methods commonly used to determine stage are AJCC and SEER historic. The AJCC method (see Collaborative Stage Data Collection System) is more commonly used in the clinical settings, while SEER has standardized and simplified staging to ensure consistent definitions over time.

SEER describes cancers in five stages:

1. In situ cancer is early cancer that is present only in the layer of cells in which it began.
2. Localized cancer is cancer that is limited to the organ in which it began, without evidence of spread.
3. Regional cancer is cancer that has spread beyond the original (primary) site to nearby lymph nodes or organs and tissues.
4. Distant cancer is cancer that has spread from the primary site to distant organs or distant lymph nodes.
5. Unstaged cancer is cancer for which there is not enough information to indicate a stage.

How much cancer is in the body and how far it has spread.

The level of the water surface of a river or stream above an established datum at a given location.

Simulation Toolkit and Generation Environment.