What stage cancer is not curable?

Curability depends as much on the type of cancer as the staging. Staging is a descriptor of where some cancers are located, limited to within an organ or spread outside and to locations above or below the breathing muscle. In general staging is not used for all cancers, but the higher the number the less curable it would be if used.

Stage 4 or metastatic cancer (spread to other organs) is generally considered incurable and the goals of therapy change usually to slowing down its progression or purely palliative or comfort care if treatment is felt to no longer offer any benefit.

Generally stage 4 is incurable. However, progress in medical science is changing that. Some lymphoid tumors may be cured even when by conventional criteria the patient has stage 4 disease.