• Tis: carcinoma in situ, or a tumor that involves only the cells in which it began and has not spread to other tissues
• Ta: a tumor that has not invaded through the outmost layer of cells, or epithelium, that makes up the skin
• T1: a tumor that has invaded through the epithelium to involve the connective tissue below the skin
• T2: a tumor that has invaded through the connective tissues to involve the corpus spongiosum or corpus cavernosum, the deep spongy tissues of the penis
• T3: a tumor that has invaded the urethra (the tube that connects the bladder and penis) or prostate gland
• T4: a tumor that has invaded other structures such as the bones of the pelvis
• N0: the cancer has not spread to glands or lymph nodes in the groin or pelvis
• N1: the cancer has spread to a single shallow gland or lymph node in the groin, called a superficial inguinal lymph node
• N2: the cancer has spread to more than one shallow gland or lymph node in the groin, either or one side or both sides of the groin
• N3: the cancer has spread to one or more deep glands or lymph nodes in the groin, called deep inguinal lymph nodes, or has spread to lymph nodes in the pelvis (such as internal iliac or hypogastric lymph nodes, external iliac lymph nodes, or obturator lymph nodes)
• M0: the cancer has not spread to distant organs or sites of the body
• M1: the cancer has spread to distant organs or sites of the body
• The different grades of penile cancer are as follows:
o G1: well-organized tumor cells; considered low grade
o G2-3: moderately-organized tumor cells; considered intermediate grade
o G4: poorly-organized tumor cells; considered high grade
