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Stages of Small Cell Lung Cancer

Small Cell Lung Cancer: Stages

What does stage of a cancer mean?


What are the stages of small cell lung cancer?

The TNM staging system


  • T tells how large the main tumor is and whether it has grown into nearby structures.

  • N tells whether the cancer has reached nearby lymph nodes.

  • M tells whether the cancer has spread (metastasized) to other organs in the body, such as your brain, bones, or liver.

Once the T, N , and M categories have been determined, your healthcare provider uses this information to find out the overall stage of your cancer (0, I, II, III, or IV).


Limited vs. extensive stage

For practical purposes, doctors usually prefer to divide SCLC into just two stages. They are based on whether you may be helped by local treatments such as radiation therapy. Here are the two stages:

  • Limited. In this stage, you have cancer only in one lung. You may also have cancer in nearby lymph nodes. But all of the cancer can be reached with a single radiation field.

  • Extensive. If you have extensive stage cancer, the cancer has spread too far to be treated with one radiation field. It may have spread to the other lung, to lymph nodes on the other side of the chest, or to distant parts of the body. 

Talking with your healthcare provider



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