Based on this information, doctors give the cancer an overall stage. There are five stages of melanoma, with some of the stages split into sub-groups:
STAGE WHAT IT MEANS Stage 0
Called “in-situ.” Cancerous cells are present, but they are in the first layer of skin, called the epidermis, and have not spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells are now deep enough to reach the second layer of skin, called the dermis, but have not spread to other parts of the body.
Stage 1 1A and 1B
Stage 2 2A, 2B and 2C
In stage 2, the depth of the tumor is deeper and/or there is some ulceration in the tumor.
Stage 3 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D
The cancer has spread to local (nearby) lymph nodes.
Stage 4
The cancer has spread to distant lymph nodes or other parts of the body. This is called metastasis.
The higher the number and the letter, the larger the tumor and the more it has spread to nearby tissue. So, stage 1 and stage A cancers have spread less than stages 2–4 or B–D cancers.
melanoma
Stages use roman numerals like this:
epidermis
Stage I
l Stage 1
Stage II
l Stage 2
dermis
Stage III
l Stage 3
Stage IV
l Stage 4
6 Melanoma Patient and Caregiver Guide | Stages 0–1
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