Thoracic Cancer Staging

At the core of Hollings Cancer Center’s Thoracic Cancer program is our in-depth staging protocol, which determines the stage of the patient’s cancer and the optimal treatment.  Diagnostic staging procedures used include:

• CT and PET scans
• Endobronchial Ultrasound
• Esophageal Ultrasound
• Thoracoscopy
• Mediastinoscopy

For lung cancer patients, staging determines:

• Tumor size
• Invasion of surrounding structures
• Involvement of lymph nodes
• Spread of the cancer to other sites

For esophageal cancer patients, staging determines:

• Depth of tumor invasion
• Involvement of surrounding structures
• Involvement of regional lymph nodes
• Spread of the cancer to other sites

Once the staging process is completed, a multidisciplinary team assembles to plan the details of the patient’s treatment.