Stages of Salivary Gland Cancer

After someone is diagnosed with salivary gland cancer, doctors will try to figure out if it has spread, and if so, how far. This process is called staging.

The stage of a cancer describes how much cancer is in the body. It helps determine how serious the cancer is and how best to treat it. Doctors also use a cancer's stage when talking about survival statistics.

How is the stage determined?

The staging system most often used for salivary gland cancers is the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) TNM system, which is based on 3 key pieces of information:

• Extent of the tumor (T) describes the size of the main (primary) tumor and spread to nearby soft tissues.
• Lymph node spread (N) describes the extent of spread to nearby (regional) lymph nodes.
• Metastasis (M) indicates if the cancer has metastasized (spread) to other parts of the body.

Numbers or letters after T, N, and M provide more details about each of these factors. Higher numbers mean the cancer is more advanced.

Once a person’s T, N, and M categories have been determined, this information is combined in a process called stage grouping to assign an overall stage. For more information, see Cancer Staging.

Clinical stage vs. pathological stage

The staging system in the table below is the pathologic stage, also called the surgical stage. It is determined by examining tissue removed during an operation.

Sometimes, if surgery is not possible right away or at all, the cancer will be given a clinical stage instead. This is based on the results of a physical exam, biopsy, and imaging tests. The clinical stage will be used to help plan treatment.

Sometimes, though, the cancer has spread further than the clinical stage estimates and might not predict the patient’s outlook as accurately as a pathologic stage.

TNM stages of salivary gland cancer

The earliest-stage salivary gland cancers are stage 0 (carcinoma in situ) and then stages range from I to IV. As a rule, the lower the number, the less the cancer has spread.

Although each person’s cancer experience is unique, cancers with similar stages tend to have a similar outlook and are often treated in much the same way.

Salivary gland cancer staging can be complex, so ask your doctor to explain it to you in a way you understand.

The system described here is the most recent AJCC system, effective January 2026.

* The following additional categories are not listed above:

• TX: Main tumor cannot be assessed due to lack of information.
• T0: No evidence of a primary tumor. The N categories are described in the table above, except for:
• NX: Regional lymph nodes cannot be assessed due to lack of information.

**3 cm = just over 1 inch; 6 cm = just over 2 inches