Diccionario de cáncer del NCI (2024)

FAQs

What stage of cancer is adenocarcinoma? ›

Adenocarcinoma stages

Stage 1 adenocarcinoma: The cancer is small and contained to local tissue, and has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or to other organs. Stage 2 adenocarcinoma: The cancer cells have more deeply spread into nearby tissue and possibly into local lymph nodes, but not to distant organs.

Cancer is a disease caused when cells divide uncontrollably and spread into surrounding tissues. Cancer is caused by changes to DNA. Most cancer-causing DNA changes occur in sections of DNA called genes. These changes are also called genetic changes.

Stage I: The cancer is localized to a small area and hasn't spread to lymph nodes or other tissues. Stage II: The cancer has grown, but it hasn't spread. Stage III: The cancer has grown larger and has possibly spread to lymph nodes or other tissues. Stage IV: The cancer has spread to other organs or areas of your body.

"In general, cancers that have spread to the lymph nodes are typically stage 2 or 3," says Juan Santamaria, MD, Nebraska Medicine surgical oncologist. "Many of these cancers are still treatable and even curable at this stage.

Is adenocarcinoma fatal? Adenocarcinoma prognosis varies depending on the type, location and size of the tumor. Cancers that are difficult to diagnose in the early stages are likely to be more fatal than cancers that are detectable early on.

Stage 4 cancer usually has spread to multiple places in the body, meaning you can live only a few weeks or a few months. In rare cases, some people may survive for several months or even a year with stage 4 cancer, with or without treatment.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) block chemical messengers (enzymes) called tyrosine kinases. Tyrosine kinases help to send growth signals in cells, so blocking them stops the cell growing and dividing. Cancer growth blockers can block one type of tyrosine kinase or more than one type.

People with stage 4 cancer often live many years after diagnosis, which is why it's more accurate to describe it as "advanced" or "late-stage."

How long can you have cancer without knowing? ›

How long can you have cancer without knowing it? While some cancers grow very quickly, other cancers are very slow growing and can even go undetected for ten years or more. One example is certain types of thyroid cancer, which are very slow growing and may never spread beyond the thyroid gland.

What is the survival rate when cancer spreads to the lymph nodes? This will depend on the type of cancer, the treatment available, and other factors. For people with breast cancer, the 5-year survival rate when cancer is only in the breast is 99% . If cancer spreads to the lymph nodes, the rate is 86%.

If your surgeon finds cancer cells in the lymph nodes they dissect, you can be assured that those cancer cells were removed in the process. Finding cancer there will also prompt your surgeon to look further and remove more lymph nodes if necessary. Removing the affected lymph nodes stops the cancer from spreading.

On the other hand, if your doctor finds the cancer cells have traveled to lymph nodes far from the initial tumor, the cancer may be spreading at a faster rate and could be in a later stage. Additionally, it's important to know how many cancer cells have traveled to the respective lymph node.

Adenocarcinoma may be aggressive depending on the organ involved. For example, adenocarcinoma of the lung is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Lung adenocarcinoma is fairly aggressive and results in a 5-year survival rate of 59.8% if there is no metastasis at the time of diagnosis.

Survival rates vary significantly, depending on the type of adenocarcinoma. Women with breast cancer that has spread locally but not to distant organs may have a 5-year survival rate of around 85% . A person with an equivalent stage adenocarcinoma in the lung would have a survival rate of about 33% .

Adenocarcinoma of the lung: Lung adenocarcinoma is the most common form of lung cancer, accounting for 30 percent of all cases overall and about 40 percent of all non-small cell lung cancer occurrences. Adenocarcinomas are found in several common cancers, including breast cancer, prostate cancer and colorectal cancer.

Stage 4 cancer is not always terminal. It is usually advanced and requires more aggressive treatment. Terminal cancer refers to cancer that is not curable and eventually results in death. Some may refer to it as end stage cancer.