Cervical cancer staging

Cervical cancer is divided into three stages: stage I, stage II, stage III and stage IV. 1. Stage I tumor is strictly confined to the cervix. Stage IA is no cancer focus with naked eye, but invasive cancer can be seen only under microscope; stage IB is clinically visible cancer focus confined to the cervix or lesions visible under microscope are larger than stage IA. 2. Stage Ⅱ tumors extended beyond the cervix but did not reach the pelvic wall or the lower third of the vagina. Stage Ⅱ A tumors had no parametrial invasion. Stage Ⅱ B tumors had parametrial invasion. Stage Ⅲ tumors extended to the pelvic wall and (or) involved the lower third of the vagina and (or) caused hydronephrosis or renal dysfunction. Stage Ⅲ A tumors involved the lower third of the vagina but did not reach the pelvic wall. Stage Ⅲ B tumor has reached the pelvic wall and (or) caused hydronephrosis or renal dysfunction. Stage IV tumor invades bladder or rectal mucosa and (or) extends beyond the true pelvis and distant metastasis. Stage Ⅳ A tumor invades adjacent organs such as bladder and rectum; Stage Ⅳ B tumor distant metastasis. Accurate staging is essential for the treatment of cervical cancer. Different stages mean different degrees of tumor progression and treatment methods. Early stage cervical cancer (stage I and stage II) can usually be treated by surgery, such as extensive hysterectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection, some patients can also be combined with radiotherapy. For locally advanced cervical cancer (stage III), concurrent chemotherapy is the main treatment.

For advanced stage (stage Ⅳ) patients, palliative care is mainly used to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life.