Staging

: Doing exams and tests to learn the extent of a cancer, especially whether it has spread from its original site to other parts of the body.

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1. The determination or classification of distinct phases or periods in the course of a disease or pathological process. 2. The determination of the specific extent of a disease process in an individual patient.

- Jewett and Strong s. obsolete term for s. of bladder carcinoma : O, noninvasive; A, with submucosal invasion; B, with muscle invasion; C, with invasion of perivascular fat; D, with lymph node metastasis.

- TNM s. a system of clinicopathologic evaluation of tumors based on the extent of tumor involvement at the primary site (T, followed by a number indicating size and depth of invasion), and lymph node involvement (N) and metastasis (M) each followed by a number starting at 0 for no evident metastasis; numbers used depend on the organ involved and influence the prognosis and choice of treatment.

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staging n the classification of the severity of a disease in distinct stages on the basis of established symptomatic criteria

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stag·ing (stājґing) 1. the determination of distinct phases or periods in the course of a disease, the life history of an organism, or any biological process. 2. the classification of neoplasms according to the extent of the tumor; see TNM s.