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Staging is the process of finding out how far the cancer has
spread. This is very important because ovarian cancers at different
stages are treated differently. Once a stage has been assigned, it
doesn’t change, even if the cancer spreads to other areas of the body
or comes back later. Staging is usually done during surgery.
One goal of surgery is to take out tissue samples and to
remove all cancer tumors larger than about ½ inch. Surgery and an exam
of the tissues under a microscope will help the doctor decide the stage
of the tumor. The AJCC/TNM system is used to stage the cancer. This
system describes the cancer in terms of the extent of the tumor (T),
whether or not it has spread to nearby lymph nodes (N), and whether it
has spread to organs farther away (or metastasized, M).
Once the TNM groups have been decided, the information is
combined to give a number from 1 to 4. The stage is expressed as a
Roman numeral. In general, the lower the number, the less the cancer
has spread. A higher number, such as stage IV (4), means a more serious
cancer.
Summary of ovarian cancer stages
Stage I: The
cancer is contained within the ovary (or ovaries).
Stage II:
Cancer is in one or both ovaries and has spread to other organs in the
pelvis such as the bladder, colon, rectum, or uterus.
Stage III: The
cancer is in one or both ovaries and has spread to one or both of the
following: the lining of the abdomen or the lymph nodes.
Stage IV:
This is the most advanced stage. The cancer has spread from one or both
ovaries to distant organs, such as the liver or lungs, or there may be
cancer cells in the fluid around the lungs.
Recurrent: The
cancer has come back (recurred) after treatment.
The above stages can be further divided into sub-groups. Ask
your doctor to explain the exact stage of your cancer in terms you can
understand.
Last Revised: 02/06/2008
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