All of these tests help the doctor gauge the extent of disease spread within the body, a process known as staging. The doctor will decide which type of treatment to give a patient depending on his or her stage of disease.
Stage I: RCC is contained only in the kidney.
Stage II: RCC has spread through the capsule enclosing the kidney, into the fatty tissue surrounding the kidney and possibly to the nearby adrenal gland.
Stage III: The growth has spread to the renal vein (the blood vessel that carries clean blood from the kidney), to the inferior vena cava (the blood vessel that carries blood from the lower body to the heart) or to the lymph nodes (small, bean-shaped organs of the immune system) around the kidney.
Stage IV: The cancer has spread to nearby organs such as the pancreas or bowel or to distant organs such as the lungs.
Recurrent: Cancer has returned to the original site or other parts of the body following treatment.
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