The stage of a cancer is a term used to describe the size of the cancer and whether it has spread beyond where it started in the body. The grade of a cancer refers to how abnormal the cancer cells look under the microscope. The grade gives an idea of how quickly the cancer may develop.

Knowing the stage and grade of your cancer is very important. Your doctors can decide what treatment will be best for you with this information. The stage and grade of a cancer can help doctors to predict how that cancer might behave, how it might respond to treatment, and what the chance of cure might be.

A staging system is a way of reporting the size of a tumour and how far it has grown. The most commonly used staging system for cancer of the larynx is the TNM staging system. TNM stands for tumour, node and metastases.

• T describes the size of the tumour
• N describes whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes and
• M describes whether the cancer has spread to another part of the body (secondary or metastatic cancer)

The exact TNM system for laryngeal cancer will depend on which part of the larynx the cancer is affected. Your doctor or specialist nurse can give you more details about the stage of your cancer.  If you want more information on the TNM staging system for cancer of the larynx contact our specialist nurses.

There are three grades of laryngeal cancer:

• Grade 1 (well differentiated or low grade). The cancer cells look very like the normal cells of the larynx.
• Grade 2 (moderately differentiated or intermediate grade). The cancer cells look less like the normal cells of the larynx.
• Grade 3 (poorly differentiated or high grade). The cancers cells look abnormal and different from normal cells in the larynx.