Pattern of Progression
Lung cancer can start in various portions of the lung. From there it spreads in fairly predictable pattern. Typically, if lung cancer spreads, it first goes to close-by lymph nodes, followed by lymph nodes further away located between the lungs in a space called the mediastinum. In the mediastinum, the lung cancer tends at first to stay on the side where the original tumor started. Once it crosses the mediastinal midline, it denotes more advanced, surgically unresectable disease. Lung cancer can also spread to distant organs, for example, the liver or adrenal glands, which constitutes the most advanced stage of the disease called stage IV.
Read more about this topic: Lung Cancer Staging
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