This page was reviewed under our medical and editorial policy by
Maurie Markman, MD, President, Medicine & Science
This page was updated on April 29, 2022.
Stage 2 cancer refers to larger tumors or cancers that have grown more deeply into nearby tissue. In this stage, the cancer may have spread to the lymph nodes, but not to other parts of the body. While it's not considered advanced cancer, stage 2 cancers are more advanced than stage 1 cancers.
Stage 2 cancers are typically larger than stage 1 cancers and/or have spread to nearby lymph nodes. Like stage 1 cancers, stage 2 cancers are typically treated with local therapies such as surgery or radiation therapy.
In stage 2 breast cancer, the tumor measures between 2 cm and 5 cm, or the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes under the arm on the same side as the breast cancer. The cancer cells have spread beyond the original location and into the surrounding breast tissue, and a tumor may be detected during a breast self-exam as a hard lump.
In non-small cell lung cancers, which account for more than 80 percent of lung cancer diagnoses, stage 2 lung cancer means the cancer may have spread to nearby lymph nodes or into the chest wall.
Cancer may be detected during a digital rectal exam. The disease is still confined to the prostate, but the cells may be abnormal and may grow faster.
Cancer has grown through the outermost layer of the colon or rectum and may have grown through it and into nearby organs or tissues. It has not spread to the lymph nodes or distant organs.
The cancer cells have grown more deeply into the skin or have more high-risk features, but they have not spread to the lymph nodes.
Cancer staging determines how much it has progressed and where it’s located. In most cases, cancer is staged using some form of the TNM system, which stands for:
The definitions for each category are a bit more detailed, providing information for different cancers, such as giving a range of tumor sizes in centimeters or inches.
Below, find what each part of the TNM system means in general.
T: How big is the tumor?
N: Is cancer in the lymph nodes?
M: Has the cancer metastasized?
Sometimes, subcategories provide even more specific information about the cancer’s size or location. For example, a tumor that falls into the T2 category may further be defined as T2a or T2b.
The grade of a tumor is different from the stage of a cancer. The stage of a cancer indicates the size of the original tumor or tumors and how much it’s spread. The tumor's grade is determined by how different the cancer cells are from normal tissue.
After a biopsy or surgery, the cancer cells are sent to a laboratory to be studied by a pathologist. If the tumor’s cells have a very different structure than normal tissue, it may signal that the cancer is growing rapidly.
The cancer care team may use the tumor's grade as one more piece of information, along with the patient's age and preferences, to determine a treatment plan. For certain types of cancers, such as brain tumors, breast tumors and prostate tumors, the grade is especially important to the care team when creating a treatment plan. For example, brain cancer is usually graded rather than staged, based on factors including:
As with stages, there are specific criteria to define grades for different types of cancer. Below, find what the different grades mean in general.
In general, stage 2 cancers tend to be treated locally with surgery and/or radiation therapy. Chemotherapy or other drugs may be used during stage 2 cancer treatment in some cases. Listed below are the stage 2 cancer treatment options for the five most common cancers.
Stage 2 breast cancer tends to be most commonly treated with surgery—a lumpectomy or mastectomy—and radiation treatment afterward. During the surgery, doctors check the nearby lymph nodes for cancer, too. Most patients also have medication as part of their treatment plan: either chemotherapy, breast cancer targeted therapy, hormone therapy or a combination.
Stage 2 lung cancer is typically treated with surgery. Some people may also have chemotherapy after surgery. For patients who can’t have surgery, radiation may be a treatment option.
For stage 2 prostate cancer, treatment depends on the patient’s symptoms, age and overall health. If the patient is older and isn’t experiencing symptoms, doctors may simply keep an eye on how the tumor is doing and treat it if there’s any drastic change. However, stage 2 cancers are more likely to spread without treatment than stage 1 cancers. Treatment options may include surgery, surgery followed by radiation, radiation only, or radiation with hormone therapy.
Stage 2 colon cancer is most commonly treated with surgery to remove the part of the colon affected by cancer and to repair the colon. In general, chemotherapy isn’t recommended after stage 2 surgery. Clinical trials are studying the effects of chemotherapy after stage 2 colon cancer surgery to see whether it’s beneficial. Stage 2 rectal cancer treatment may include several steps, done in a different order for different people. A treatment plan for stage 2 rectal cancer may look like: chemotherapy and radiation (chemoradiation), then surgery, then chemotherapy again.
Stage 2 melanoma is typically treated with surgery. Additionally, doctors may do a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) to check for cancer in the nearby lymph nodes. If cancer is found, treatment may include immunotherapy or targeted therapy, or doctors may recommend monitoring the lymph nodes through regular ultrasounds before pursuing other treatment.
After a stage 2 cancer diagnosis, patients may want to learn more about their outlook. Survival rate estimates for cancer patients vary based on several factors, including:
Because stage 2 cancer has grown into nearby tissue, it’s considered more serious than stage 1, but not as serious as stage 3 or 4. The patient’s care team can share specifics about the stage 2 survival rate for his or her specific cancer type after assessing the cancer grade, location and other details about the patient’s health.
