Table: Staging Cancers of the Female Reproductive System*-Merck Manual Consumer Version

Staging Cancers of the Female Reproductive System*

Type	Stage I	Stage II	Stage III	Stage IV†
Cervical cancer	Only in the cervix	Spread outside the uterus (including the upper two thirds of the vagina and/or tissues outside the uterus) but still within the pelvis‡	Spread throughout the pelvis and/or to the lower third of the vagina and/or blocks the ureters and/or causes a kidney to malfunction and/or spread to the lymph nodes near the aorta (the largest artery in the body)	Spread outside the pelvis and/or to the bladder or rectum or distant organs
Endometrial (uterine) cancer	Only in the body of the uterus (not in the cervix, which is the lower part of the uterus)	Spread to the cervix but is still within the uterus	Spread to nearby tissues, the vagina, or lymph nodes	Spread to the bladder and/or intestine and/or distant sites
Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia	Only in the body of the uterus	Spread outside the uterus to the ovary, fallopian tube, vagina, and/or nearby tissues	Spread to the lungs	Spread outside the lungs and uterus to distant sites, such as the brain, liver, kidneys, and/or digestive tract
Ovarian cancer Fallopian tube cancer Peritoneal cancer	Only in one or both ovaries or fallopian tubes	Spread to the uterus or nearby tissues within the pelvis or cancer only on the peritoneum (the tissue that lines the pelvis and abdomen)‡	Spread outside the pelvis to lymph nodes and/or to other parts of the abdomen (such as the surface of the liver or spleen)	Spread to distant sites (for example, to the liver or lungs)
Vaginal cancer	Only in the vagina	Spread through the wall of the vagina to nearby tissues but still within the pelvis‡	Spread throughout the pelvis and/or to lymph nodes and/or blocks the ureters and/or causes a kidney to malfunction	Spread to the bladder or rectum or outside of the pelvis
Vulvar cancer	Only in the vulva	Spread to nearby tissues (the lower part of the urethra or vagina or to the anus)	Spread to the upper part of nearby structures and/or lymph nodes	Spread to distant sites or lymph nodes in the groin, forming sores or becoming stuck together or attached to bone
* Based on the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Staging System.
† Stage IV is sometimes further classified as A or B depending on where the cancer has spread.
‡ The pelvis refers to the lowest part of the abdomen, the area below the abdomen and between the hip bones. It contains the internal reproductive organs, bladder, and rectum.

Type

Stage I

Stage II

Stage III

Stage IV†

Only in the cervix

Spread outside the uterus (including the upper two thirds of the vagina and/or tissues outside the uterus) but still within the pelvis‡

Spread throughout the pelvis and/or to the lower third of the vagina and/or blocks the ureters and/or causes a kidney to malfunction and/or spread to the lymph nodes near the aorta (the largest artery in the body)

Spread outside the pelvis and/or to the bladder or rectum or distant organs

Endometrial (uterine) cancer

Only in the body of the uterus (not in the cervix, which is the lower part of the uterus)

Spread to the cervix but is still within the uterus

Spread to nearby tissues, the vagina, or lymph nodes

Spread to the bladder and/or intestine and/or distant sites

Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia

Only in the body of the uterus

Spread outside the uterus to the ovary, fallopian tube, vagina, and/or nearby tissues

Spread to the lungs

Spread outside the lungs and uterus to distant sites, such as the brain, liver, kidneys, and/or digestive tract

Ovarian cancer

Fallopian tube cancer

Peritoneal cancer

Only in one or both ovaries or fallopian tubes

Spread to the uterus or nearby tissues within the pelvis or cancer only on the peritoneum (the tissue that lines the pelvis and abdomen)‡

Spread outside the pelvis to lymph nodes and/or to other parts of the abdomen (such as the surface of the liver or spleen)

Spread to distant sites (for example, to the liver or lungs)

Vaginal cancer

Only in the vagina

Spread through the wall of the vagina to nearby tissues but still within the pelvis‡

Spread throughout the pelvis and/or to lymph nodes and/or blocks the ureters and/or causes a kidney to malfunction

Spread to the bladder or rectum or outside of the pelvis

Vulvar cancer

Only in the vulva

Spread to nearby tissues (the lower part of the urethra or vagina or to the anus)

Spread to the upper part of nearby structures and/or lymph nodes

Spread to distant sites or lymph nodes in the groin, forming sores or becoming stuck together or attached to bone

* Based on the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Staging System.

† Stage IV is sometimes further classified as A or B depending on where the cancer has spread.

‡ The pelvis refers to the lowest part of the abdomen, the area below the abdomen and between the hip bones. It contains the internal reproductive organs, bladder, and rectum.