# Pleural mesothelioma staging (AJCC chapter 37)

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/pleural-mesothelioma-staging/  
OnCo record `pleural-mesothelioma-staging` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Pleural mesothelioma is staged by how far it has spread over the linings and into the structures on one side of the chest, with spread to the other side or beyond the chest as stage IV.

## Summary

AJCC chapter 37 covers pleural mesothelioma; the AJCC 2026 table lists a Version 9 protocol, Diffuse Pleural Mesothelioma, for 2025. In the NCI's summary, stage IA is cancer in the inner lining of the chest wall on one side, possibly also on the linings of the lung, mediastinum or diaphragm on that side; IB adds spread into the diaphragm, lung, chest wall tissues or the sac around the heart; stages II and III add lymph nodes and wider local spread; stage IV is spread to the other side of the chest, the peritoneum, bones, liver, nodes outside the chest or elsewhere. The stage descriptions are those in the National Cancer Institute's PDQ summary, which follows the AJCC tables. Check which version a report uses.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: mesothelioma staging; pleural mesothelioma staging; diffuse pleural mesothelioma staging

## Sources

- National Cancer Institute, Mesothelioma stages: https://www.cancer.gov/types/mesothelioma/stages
- American College of Surgeons, AJCC Current Staging System 2026 (which chapters are 8th edition and which Version 9): https://www.facs.org/media/c5ik5tkr/ajcc-current-staging-system-2026.pdf

## Connected records

- terms: [AJCC Version 9 staging](https://onco.cc/terms/ajcc-version-9/), [Disease-specific staging and risk systems (FIGO, Ann Arbor, IPI, R-ISS, ELN, IMDC)](https://onco.cc/terms/staging-systems/), [Modified RECIST for pleural mesothelioma](https://onco.cc/terms/mrecist-mesothelioma/), [TNM staging](https://onco.cc/terms/tnm-staging/)
- cancers: [Mesothelioma](https://onco.cc/cancers/mesothelioma/), [Pleural mesothelioma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pleural-mesothelioma/)

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