Stage IV (stage 4 uterine cancer): The cancer has spread to the inner surface of the urinary bladder or the rectum, to lymph nodes in the groin, and/or to distant organs, such as the bones, omentum or lungs.
Stage IV uterine cancer has two subcategories:
- Stage IVA: The cancer has spread to the inner lining of the rectum or urinary bladder. It may or may not have spread to nearby lymph nodes but has not spread to the distant sites.
- Stage IVB: The cancer has spread to the distant lymph nodes, the upper abdomen, the omentum, or to organs away from the uterus, such as the bones, omentum or lungs.
When and how does my doctor determine the stage of my uterine cancer?
Once your cancer has been diagnosed, your surgeon works to determine the stage of your cancer through various diagnostic tests that includes a chest x-ray, a CT scan, PET scan and blood tests.
Oncologists at American Oncology Institute are the best cancer surgeons for uterine cancer in India who have pioneered the approach for determining where gynecologic cancers are likely to spread first, allowing them to remove a limited number of lymph nodes and reduce complications of surgery.
What are the stages of uterine cancer?
The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics classifies endometrial cancer into four stages:
- Stage I: Cancer that is confined to the uterus
- Stage II: Cancer spread to the cervix
- Stage III: Cancer spread to the vagina, ovaries, and/or lymph nodes
- Stage IV: Cancer spread to the urinary bladder, rectum, or organs located far from the uterus, such as the lungs or bones.
Nearly 70% women are diagnosed with the early stage uterine cancer, when the cancer is still within the uterus. Another 20% are diagnosed when the cancer has metastasized or spread to nearby organs and lymph nodes, and remaining 10% are diagnosed when it has spread to distant parts of the body.
Is stage 4 uterine cancer curable?
Stage 4 uterine cancer is the advance stage when the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. In most cases, however, stage IV cancer is not curable, but that doesn’t mean that there is no effective treatment.
Is stage 4 uterine cancer terminal?
In most cases of stage IV endometrial cancer, the cancer has spread too far for it to be removed completely with surgery. But despite that to control symptoms such as excessive bleeding, a hysterectomy and removal of both fallopian tubes and ovaries may still be done. Even radiation therapy may be used in some cases.
What is the most aggressive uterine cancer?
There are different types of uterine cancer, some more aggressive than others. While the majority of cancers arising in the womb are slow growing, others are more aggressive which means that it may grow or spread quickly into other organs, or recur quickly.
Uterine sarcomas, which develop in the muscle tissue of the uterus (the myometrium) are the most aggressive form of uterine cancer.
Even mixed tumors (carcinosarcomas) that arise from both the muscle tissue and the endometrium are found to be aggressive.
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