Stages of Bladder Cancer

When your care team determines your diagnosis, they also assess what stage of bladder cancer you have. Staging describes:

• Size of the tumor
• Location of the cancer
• Whether the cancer has spread and, if so, to where

A bladder cancer diagnosis and its staging help you and your doctor make decisions about your treatment plan. This information is also helpful in determining your prognosis (probable outcome based on the experience of others).

The stages of bladder cancer are:

Stage TA: Cancer has been found in the bladder's inner lining but hasn't invaded the muscular bladder wall.

Stage TIS: Cancer confined to the bladder lining but is graded more aggressive.

Stage T1: Cancer has spread through the lining but has not progressed to the muscular wall.

Stage T2: Cancer has invaded the muscular bladder wall but is still confined to the bladder.

Stage T3: Cancer has spread through the bladder wall to surrounding fatty tissue.

Stage T4: Cancer has spread to organs around the bladder, such as the prostate in men or the vagina in women.

Bladder cancer that has spread to lymph nodes is described as node positive (N+). Cancers that have spread to distant sites such as the lung are considered metastatic (M+).