The cancer stage is classified based on the disease's extent and the location at the time of diagnosis. This is what is meant by the term "cancer extent."

The results of diagnostic procedures are used to determine the extent of the tumour, the locations within the organ where the cancer has progressed, and the likelihood that the disease has spread beyond its original site of origin.

Your healthcare team uses the stage in making treatment plans and result predictions (your prognosis). The FIGO method is widely used for ovarian cancer staging. There are four distinct phases of ovarian cancer.

The Roman numerals I, II, III, and IV are commonly used to denote the first four phases. As the stage number increases, the cancer is further along in its progression. If you have concerns about your cancer's stage, discuss them with your doctor.

What Is Staging?

The term "staging" is used by medical professionals to characterize the extent and location of a tumour. The origin, any subsequent spread, and the current location are all relevant pieces of information.

Tissue samples taken from several locations in the pelvis and abdomen are used to determine the ovarian cancer stage. Accuracy in staging is essential. Without such testing, cancer beyond the ovaries can go undetected.

Different medical organizations could use somewhat different staging. The International Federation of Gynecological Oncologists (FIGO) method is popular for staging gynaecological cancers.

Comprehending the Staging Process

Surgery findings are used in the TNM staging approach for most ovarian tumours, which identifies the size of the main tumour (T), and whether or not cancer has spread to other organ in the body. After a patient has been classified as T, N, or M, their cancer is staged according to a specific group, represented by a number and further subcategorized.

Stage 1

In some cases, just one ovary is affected, while in others, both are. The cancer is contained inside one ovary and nowhere else in the body at stage 1A. The ovarian capsule has not yet burst (it stays intact).

Tumours in stage 1B are confined to one or both ovaries. Each ovary's protective capsule is intact. If you have one ovarian tumour or two in both ovaries, you have stage 1C cancer.

• A surgical procedure ruptured the capsule that normally encloses one ovary (called a surgical spill).
• The ovarian capsule that protected the ovary ruptured before surgery. Cancer is cancer if a tumour or cancerous cells are visible outside the ovary.
• Ascites or peritoneal washings (a saltwater solution used to screen for cancer cells before surgery) contain cancer cells.

Stage 2

It has spread from one or both ovaries to other organs in the pelvis.

To be classified as stage 2A, the tumour must have invaded either the uterus or the fallopian tubes.

If the tumour has spread to other organs in the pelvis by stage 2B, it will be because it has invaded the rectum.

Stage 3

Whether it spread from the peritoneum to the ovaries or vice versa, cancer has now spread to one or both ovaries. Cancer has progressed beyond the pelvic region.

Lymph nodes in the lower right and left sides of the abdomen are involved in stage 3A. Also, cancer may have migrated to the colon and extrapelvic peritoneum, and maybe even the lymph nodes in the retroperitoneal space.

In stage 3B, cancer has expanded extensively to the peritoneum outside the pelvis and the gut and may have also spread to the retroperitoneal lymph nodes.

The peritoneum has disseminated cancer. However, it is no longer in the pelvic region in stage 3C. As far as we can tell, it did not spread within the liver or spleen but reached the capsule that encloses them.

Stage 4

Cancer has moved to locations outside the abdomen and pelvis, a process is known as distant metastasis.

The fluid accumulation in the pleural cavity contains cancer cells in stage 4A. (called pleural effusion).

Stage 4B cancer has progressed to other organs, most often the lungs, liver, and lymph nodes outside the abdomen.

Return of Ovarian Cancer

When ovary cancer returns after initial treatment, it is called recurrent. Local recurrence is when cancer returns to the same or a nearby location from where it first spread. It's also possible for it to return to a different location. This phenomenon is known as distant metastasis or recurrence.