The clinical stage is based on the results of the physical exam, biopsies, and imaging tests (CT scan, chest x-ray, PET scan, etc.), which are described in the section “How is small cell lung cancer diagnosed?”
If you have surgery, your doctor can also determine a pathologic stage, which is based on the same factors as the clinical stage, plus what is found as a result of the surgery.
The clinical and pathologic stages may be different in some cases. For example, during surgery the doctor may find cancer in an area that did not show up on imaging tests, which might give the cancer a more advanced pathologic stage.
Because most patients with lung cancer do not have surgery, the clinical stage is most often used when describing the extent of this cancer. However, when it is available, the pathologic stage is likely to be more accurate than the clinical stage, as it is based on your doctor’s firsthand impression of the extent of your disease.