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Thyroid cancer acts differently in each person. Your doctor uses staging studies, such as the imaging tests and biopsy, to determine how fast the cancer is growing and how far it has spread. With the results of these studies, your doctor will assign your cancer a stage.
The stage of cancer is based on the grade, the size of a cancerous tumor, and where and how far it has spread. The first place cancer is found in the body is called the primary site or primary tumor. Cancer that has spread is called metastatic.
With thyroid cancer, your doctor must remove your thyroid with surgery before he or she knows the cancer’s stage. The stages of thyroid cancer differ, depending on the type of cancer you have. Here is a summary of the stages for different types of this cancer.
Understanding the Stages of Papillary and Follicular Types
Stage I. This stage depends on your age. If you are younger than 45 and the cancer has not spread beyond your neck or upper chest, it is stage I. The lymph nodes near your thyroid may show cancer, but it is still stage I. If you are 45 or older, you have stage I cancer if the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller and has not spread.
Stage II. This stage also depends on your age. If you are younger than 45 and the cancer has spread to your lung and bones, it is stage II. If you are 45 or older, and the size of the tumor is between 2 and 4 centimeters, and the cancer has not spread, you have stage II cancer.
Stage III. This stage applies to people age 45 or older. You have stage III cancer if the tumor is bigger than 4 centimeters, or if the cancer has started to spread just outside the thyroid, including to the lymph nodes.
Stage IVA. This stage applies to people age 45 or older. You have stage IVA if the cancer has spread to your neck, the lymph nodes in your neck, or to your upper chest.
Stage IVB. This stage applies to people age 45 or older. You have stage IVB if the cancer has spread to the blood vessels in your neck or upper chest or to tissue near your backbone.
Stage IVC. This stage applies to people age 45 or older. If the cancer has spread to distant sites, you have stage IVC.
Understanding the Stages of Medullary Type
Stage 0. This stage is when cancer shows up on a screening test, but you do not have a thyroid tumor.
Stage I. In this stage, the tumor is 2 centimeters or smaller. The cancer has not spread to other parts of your body.
Stage II. In this stage, the size of the tumor is between 2 and 4 centimeters. The cancer has not spread to other parts of your body.
Stage III. You have stage III if the tumor is bigger than 4 centimeters or if the cancer has started to spread just outside the thyroid, including to the lymph nodes.
Stage IVA. You have stage IVA if the cancer has spread to your neck, lymph nodes in your neck, or to your upper chest.
Stage IVB. You have stage IVB if the cancer has spread to the blood vessels in your neck or upper chest or to tissue near your backbone.
Stage IVC. If your cancer has spread to your lung and bones, you have stage IVC.
Understanding the Stages of Anaplastic Type
Stage IV. Anaplastic thyroid cancer is always stage IV. It is a fast-growing and fast-spreading cancer. It has usually spread to the neck by the time a doctor diagnoses it. This type of cancer mostly occurs in older people. .