The process used to find out if cancer has spread within the cervix or to other parts of the body is called staging and the information gathered from the staging process determines the stage of the disease. It is important to know the stage in order to plan treatment. The following tests and procedures may be used in the staging process: CT scan, Positron emission tomography scan, Magnetic resonance imaging, Ultrasound exam, Chest X-ray, Cystoscopy , Laparoscopy, and Pretreatment surgical staging.
The results of these tests are viewed together with the results of the original tumor biopsy to determine the cervical cancer stage. There are three ways that cancer spreads through the body. Cancer can spread through the lymph system, the tissue and the blood. Through the lymph system the cancer spreads from where it began by getting into the system and then travels through the lymph vessels to other parts of the body. Cancer spreads through the tissue by growing into nearby areas and lastly spreads through the blood by travelling through the blood vessels to other parts of the body. When cancer spreads to another part of the body, it is called metastasis.
Cancer cells break away from where they began (the primary tumor) and travel through the lymph system or blood. The metastatic tumor is the same type of cancer as the primary tumor. For example, if cervical cancer spreads to the lung, the cancer cells in the lung are actually cervical cancer cells. The disease is metastatic cervical cancer, not lung cancer. The following stages are used for cervical cancer; The Carcinoma in Situ (stage0 ) means that some of the cells of the cervix have cancerous changes. But the abnormal cells are all contained within the surface layer of the cervix.
Carcinoma in situ is not a cancer but in some women the changes will develop into a cancer after some year. It is important to have treatment as soon as possible for carcinoma in situ. As long as the affected area is removed cancer can be prevented. The 5 year observed survival rate for patients who found their cancer in this stage is 93%. The stage 1cancer is found in the cervix only. The stage 1 is divided into stage 1A and stage 1B, based on the amount of cancer that is found. A very small amount of cancer that can only be seen with a microscope is found in the tissues of the cervix.
Stage IA is divided into stages IA1 and IA2, based on the size of the tumor. In stage IA1, the cancer is not more than 3 millimeters deep and not more than 7 millimeters wide. In stage IA2, the cancer is more than 3 but not more than 5 millimeters deep, and not more than 7 millimeters wide. Stage IB is divided into stages IB1 and IB2, based on the size of the tumor. the cancer can only be seen with a microscope and is more than 5 millimeters deep and more than 7 millimeters wide; or the cancer can be seen without a microscope and is 4 centimeters wide or smaller. In stage IB2, thecancer can be seen without a microscope and is more than 4 centimeters.
The 5 year observed survival rate for patients who found their cancer in this stage 1A is 93% and stage 1B is 80%. The stage 2 cancer the cancer has began to spread outside the neck of the womb into the surrounding tissues but has not grown into the muscles or ligaments that line the pelvis or to the lower part of the vagina. This stage can be divided into stage 2A and 2B. Stage 2A cancer has spread beyond the cervix to the upper two thirds of the vagina but not to the tissues around the uterus.
Stage 2A is divided into 1 and 2 based on the size of the tumor in stage 2A1 the tumor can be seen without a microscope and is 4 centimeters wide or smaller, and in stage 2A2 the tumor can be seen without a microscope and is more than 4 centimeters. This stage is usually treated with surgery and radiotherapy. Stage 2B cancer has spread beyond the cervix to the tissues around the uterus and is usually treated with chemoradiation.
The 5 year observed survival rate for patients in stage 2A is 63% and 2B is 58%. The stage 3 cancer has spread away from the cervix and into surrounding structures in the pelvic area, it may have grown down into the lower part of the vagina and the muscles an ligaments that line the pelvic wall and it may have grown up to block the tubes that drain the kidneys. Stage 3 is divided into stages 3A and 3B, based on how far the cancer has spread. In stage 3A is when the cancer has spread to the lower third of the vagina but not the pelvic wall and in stage3B the cancer has spread to the pelvic wall and the tumor has become large enough to block the ureters and this blockage causes the kidneys to get bigger and stop working.
This stage is usually treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The 5 year observed survival rate for patients in stage 3A is 35% and in stage 3B is 32%. The stage 4 cervical cancer has become advanced and has spread to other body organs outside the cervix and womb. This stage is divided into stage 4A and 4B based on where the cancer has spread. In stage 4A the cancer has spread to nearby organs such as the bladder or rectum, and in stage 4B the cancer has spread to the other parts of the body such as the liver, lungs, bones, or distant lymph nodes. This stage is treated with a combination of treatments such as surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
The 5 year observed survival rate for patients in stage 4A is 16%and 4B is 15%.
CITED SOURCES. “Survival Rates for Cervical Cancer, by Stage. ” Survival Rates for Cervical Cancer, by Stage. American Cancer Society, 19 Sept. 2014. Web. 06 Nov. 2014. <http://www. cancer. org/cancer/cervicalcancer/detailedguide/cervical-cancer-survival>. “Cervical Cancer Stages. ” Cancer Research UK. N. p. , 2 June 2014. Web. 08 Nov. 2014. <http://www. cancerresearchuk. org/about-cancer/type/cervical-cancer/treatment/cervical-cancer- stages>.