Uterine Cancer Stages And Grades
The stage provides a common way of describing cancer, enabling physicians to work together to plan the best treatments. Physicians assign the stage of uterine cancer using the FIGO system.
Stages of uterine cancer
Stage I (or Phase I): Local growth
Cancer cells multiply rapidly. Cancer (malignant tumor) is a "nodule" or "growth" of tissue consisting of cancerous cells. Cancer swelling usually develops in one original place: the primary tumor. However, in order to grow, a tumor must develop the blood supply to obtain oxygen and nutrition for the new and dividing cells. In fact, a tumor would not exceed a pin if it had no blood supply. Cancer cells make chemicals that stimulate small blood vessels around them to grow, those blood vessels splitting off the existing blood vessels. This ability to stimulate cancer cells to grow blood vessels is called 'angiogenesis'.
- Stage Ia: tumor restricted to the endometrium
- Stage Ib: impairment of less than half of the uterine muscle
- Stage Ic: injury of more than half of the uterine muscle
Malignant cells have the ability to "pave a way" through normal cells. Thus, while they share and multiply, the malignant cells penetrate and cause damage to the surrounding tissue or exert pressure on it (which also causes damage to healthy cells).
- Stage IIa: impairment of the endocervical lymph nodes
- Stage IIb: cervical stroma cavity (tissue around the cervix)
Some malignant cells may end up in the local lymph vessels. (The body contains a network of lymph vessels that discharge the lymph - this is the fluid that surrounds the body cells). The lymph vessels pass lymph to the lymph nodes. There are many lymph nodes spread throughout the body. A malignant cell can be transported to a lymph node and get stuck. Such a cell can multiply at that place and grow into a tumor. As a result, the lymph nodes can swell close to a tumor and contain cancer cells.
- Stage IIIa: the tumor spread to uterus and/or appendages of uterus and/or positive peritoneal cytology (cancerous cells in the abdominal wall)
- Stage IIIb: vaginal sores
- Stage IIIc: pancreatic lymph nodes and/or para-aortic lymph nodes
Some malignant cells may end up in a small local blood vessel (capillary). They can then be transported to other parts of the body via the bloodstream. There, these cells can then multiply and grow into "secondary" tumors (metastases) in one or more parts of the body. These secondary tumors, in turn, can also grow locally, penetrate into the healthy environment and cause damage to nearby tissues, and spread further.
- Stage IVa: extension of the tumor to the bladder or intestinal wall
- Stage IVb: remote disturbances, including lymph nodes and/or stomach ulcerations
Physicians describe this cancer type by its grade, which describes how much cancer cells resemble healthy cells when viewed under a microscope.
The physician compares the cancerous tissue with healthy tissue. Healthy tissue usually contains many different types of cells grouped together. If cancer appears similar to healthy tissue and contains different cell groupings, it is a low-grade tumor or called differentiated. If the cancerous tissue looks very different from healthy tissue, it is called poorly differentiated or a high-grade tumor. Cancer's grade may assist physician predict how rapidly cancer will spread. In general, the lower the tumor’s grade, the better the prognosis.
The letter "G" is used to define a grade for uterine cancer.
- GX: The grade cannot be evaluated.
- G1: The cells are well differentiated.
- G2: The cells are moderately differentiated.
- G3: The cells are poorly differentiated.
*Image source : MedicineNet
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