The American Joint Committee on Cancer uses the TNM classification system:

* The letter T, followed by a number ranging from 0 to 4 indicates the size of the tumor and spread to the skin or chest wall under the breast. A higher number corresponds to a larger tumor and / or a higher spread to nearby tissues.

* The letter N, followed by a number ranging from 0 to 3 indicates whether the cancer has spread to lymph nodes near the breast and, if so, whether these nodes are attached to other structures.

* The letter M, followed by a 0 or 1, stated whether the cancer has spread to distant organs.

The classification for subgroups is done with numbers ranging from I to IV.

Stage I: indicates that the tumor is less than 2 cm and no metastasis. The relative survival rate 5 years is 98%.

Stage II: includes the following situations:

- No larger than 2 cm but the lymph nodes under the arm are affected.
- Measure 2 to 5 cm and may or may not have spread.
- It is more than 5 cm but the axillary lymph nodes are not affected. The survival rate at 5 years is 88-76%.

Stage III is divided into stage IIIA and IIIB:

Stage III A can integrate the following ways:
- The tumor is smaller than 5 centimeters and has spread to the axillary lymph nodes and these are linked together or to other structures.
- The tumor is larger than 5 cm and the axillary lymph nodes are affected. The relative survival rate 5 years is 56%.

Stage III B can occur in the following cases:
- The cancer has spread to other tissues near the breast (skin, chest wall, including ribs and chest muscles).
- The cancer has spread to lymph nodes inside the chest wall near the sternum. The relative survival rate 5 years is 46%.

Stage IV: This occurs when the cancer has spread to other body structures. The organs that usually appear more frequently metastasis are the bones, lungs, liver or brain. It may also be that the tumor has affected skin locally. The relative survival rate 5 years is 16%.

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