What Are the Stages of Cervical Cancer

In cancer, staging is used to describe the location of cancer, where or if it has metastasized, and whether the cancer is affecting any other part of the patient’s body. What are the stages of cervical cancer? Just like the other cancer types, cervical cancer also has 4 stages.

The doctors will use physical examination and diagnostic tests to figure out the stage of cervical cancer. Staging won’t be complete unless the entire test is done. By knowing the cancer stage, the doctor will be able to decide the best treatment for the patient and can predict the prognosis as well. Read also: Cervical Cancer Survival Rate by Stage

What Are the Stages of Cervical Cancer?

Different cancer types have different descriptions for the staging. For cervical cancer, the Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology is the one who developed the system for staging. This federation is also known as FIGO or Federation Internationale de Gynecologie et d’Obstetrique.  Read also: Cervical Cancer Life Expectancy

Doctors will assign the cancer stage by evaluating the cervical tumor and whether that cancer has metastasized to the other parts of the patient’s body. Staging will be based on the biopsies, imaging scans, as well as physical exam results.

1. Stage I

This stage is when cancer has metastasized from the lining of the patient’s cervix into the much deeper tissue. But the cancer is only found inside the patient’s uterus and has not metastasized to any other part of the patient’s body.

Stage I is divided into some smaller groups to describe the condition of cancer in much more detail.

• Stage IA
  This stage is when the doctor diagnoses cancer simply by viewing the cervical cells or tissue under the microscope. Tissue samples evaluation or imaging tests are some other methods that can help determine the size of the tumor.

• Stage IB
  In Stage IB, the cervical tumor is already a bigger size. However, that tumor is still around the cervix only and there is no spread to the distant areas.

2. Stage II

The next answer for what are the stages of cervical cancer is Stage II. This is the stage when cancer has already metastasized beyond the patient’s uterus to some nearby areas, like the miss v or to the tissue close to the cervix. But the spread is inside the area of the pelvic.

Cancer has not metastasized to another part of the patient’s body. Just like the first stage, this stage is also divided into some smaller groups.

• Stage IIA
  This stage is when the tumor is on the two-thirds of the upper miss v. The tumor has not metastasized to the other tissue next to the patient’s cervix that is also known as the parametrial area.
  
  
• Stage IIB
  Stage IIB is when the tumor has already metastasized to the parametrial area but does not touch the wall of the patient’s pelvic.

3. Stage III

This stage is when the tumor is involving the miss v’s lower third and/or has metastasized to the wall of the pelvic. The tumor causes kidney swelling which is called hydronephrosis. The tumor can also make the kidney stops functioning and/or even involve the regional lymph nodes.

4. Stage IV

Stage IV is the last answer for what are the stages of cervical cancer. Stage IV is divided into 2 different stages:

• Stage IVA
  This stage is when cancer has already metastasized to the patient’s rectum or bladder but has not metastasized to another part of the patient’s body.
  
  
• Stage IVB
  This is when cancer has already spread or metastasized to the other organs of the cervical cancer patient.

Each stage has a different prognosis. The prognosis will be different for each patient based on many factors. The doctor is going to recommend the right treatment for each stage and each prognosis based on the condition of every patient and the patient’s preferences.