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 | |
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 | |
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 Ovarian Cancer, Fallopian Tube Cancer, and Peritoneal Cancer Ovarian cancer is cancer of the ovaries. It is related to fallopian tube cancer, which develops in the tubes that lead from the ovaries to the uterus, and peritoneal cancer, which is cancer... read more 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) |
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 | |
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. |