Just imagine that every one of us spoke a different language!
We wouldn't be able to understand each other and nothing could
be communicated or be done. The importance of staging lies in
the fact that it provides medical professionals with an excellent
tool of communication about a disease so that they can describe
it better and then do something about it. With such a common
language, physicians, surgeons, pathologists, radiation therapists,
oncologists, cancer researchers, and medical practitioners in
other specialized fields can communicate effectively about cancer
and find ways to prevent and treat the disease.
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In the form of coded format that is easily understood
universally, staging standardizes cancer data into categories
which can be compared locally, nationally, and internationally.
The exchange of standardized data between cancer researchers
facilitates the continuing investigation, ("research")
of cancer. The comparison of treatment results of cancer
becomes meaningful only if it is based on a common criteria
for extent of disease.
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Cancer treatment decisions are influenced, in part, according
to the stage of disease, since it is important for the medical
practitioner to adequately assess the extent of cancer in
order to treat the disease in the most appropriate manner.
Based on a detailed knowledge of the extent of the disease,
cancer specialists can make recommendations about the chances
of being cured by surgery alone, the type of surgery that
will give the patient the best possible outcome, or additional
treatments (radiation,
hormone or
chemotherapy).
Staging is also used to indicate prognosis or survival. Data
from historical sources can provide an estimate of the expected
survival rate for a particular cancer with a corresponding
extent of disease. In addition to stage, histology, grade
of the tumor, age, sex, race, and the efficacy of therapy
play a part in determining the patient's prognosis and quality
of survival.
As an important component of cancer statistics, staging also
plays an important role in the evaluation of screening programs.
Information obtained from the entire health information record
is to be used to accurately assign a stage for a cancer case.
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