Mesothelioma Stages

There are 4 stages of mesothelioma development. Stage 1 is the least severe of the 4. Stage 4 is the most severe and generally the hardest to treat.

Stage I: Respectable mesothelioma and no lymph node involvement
At this stage, mesothelioma has been diagnosed and found within a body cavity. However, there are no signs of the disease in the lymph nodes. The lymph nodes are a system of the body some cancers use to move and infect other areas of the body outside where the cancer was first found.

Stage II: Respectable mesothelioma, but with lymph node involvement
In this stage, mesothelioma has been detected in the lymph nodes, but not outside the area it was first diagnosed. Sometimes infected lymph nodes can be removed, lessening the chance of the disease infecting other parts of the body.

Stage III: Unrespectable mesothelioma extending into chest wall, heart, or through the diaphragm or peritoneum with or without extrathoracic lymph node involvement
This is the stage in which mesothelioma is first found outside the area in which the infection began. Mesothelioma tumors begin to appear in the wall of the chest, the area of the heart, and in the abdominal cavity. Lymph nodes within the chest are infected and other lymph nodes of the body could be infected as well.

Stage IV: Distant metastatic disease
In this final stage of mesothelioma infection, tumors can be found anywhere in the body.