If a person has a primary tumor on the base of the tongue but and it has spead to the retomolar trigone, soft palate, or tonsillar pillars (after tonsillectomy) does it automaticaly mean stage 4. I was just curious because on the staging area of the website, it says that stage four is a tumor and size that has spead to any other area of oral cavity. I took that to mean the primary tumor and any cancerous cells can only be in one area not to be classified as stage 3. Any help in understanding this would be greatly appreciated.