Transitional Cell Carcinoma Stages

Transitional cell carcinoma stages are used to determine the size of the tumor, whether the disease has spread, and if so, to what parts of the body. This article discusses staging of transitional cell carcinoma of the ureter and renal pelvis, which should not be confused with bladder cancer or renal cell carcinoma. For this type of transitional cell carcinoma, stages of the disease include stages 0 through IV and recurrent forms of the cancer. Transitional cell carcinoma of the ureter and renal pelvis is also described as localized, regional, or metastatic.

 

Transitional Cell Carcinoma Stages: An Introduction

If a diagnosis of transitional cell carcinoma (of the ureter and renal pelvis) is made, the doctor will need to determine the stage, or extent, of the disease.
 
For purposes of this article, the term "transitional cell carcinoma" refers to transitional cell carcinoma of the ureter and renal pelvis, which should not be confused with renal cell carcinoma (the most common type of kidney cancer) or bladder cancer (a more common type of transitional cell carcinoma).
 
(Click Bladder Cancer Staging for information about the stages of the more common type of transitional cell carcinoma. For more information about the stages of renal cell carcinoma, click Kidney Cancer Stages.)
 
It's important to know which of the transitional cell carcinoma stages best describes the tumor in order to plan the best transitional cell carcinoma treatment. Transitional cell carcinoma staging is an attempt to find out the size of the tumor, whether the disease has spread, and if so, to what parts of the body.
 

Transitional Cell Carcinoma Staging Tests

Tests that are used to determine the transitional cell carcinoma stage include:
 
  • Intravenous pyelogram (IVP)
  • Computed tomography (CT) scan
  • Ultrasound
  • Ureteroscopy.
(Transitional Cell Carcinoma Stages Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD