This page was reviewed under our medical and editorial policy by
Maurie Markman, MD, President, Medicine & Science at CTCA.
This page was updated on May 18, 2022.
Making an educated treatment decision begins with knowing the stage, or progression, of the disease. The stage of cervical cancer is one of the most important factors in evaluating treatment options.
At Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA), our doctors use a variety of diagnostic tests to evaluate cervical cancer and develop an individualized treatment plan. If you’ve been recently diagnosed, we will review your pathology to confirm you’ve received the correct diagnosis and staging information. If you have a recurrence, we will perform comprehensive testing and identify a treatment approach that is suited to your needs.
This article will explore:
To determine the stage, doctors may use the following tests, or a combination of these procedures:
Your care team may also need to perform a procedure to collect more information about the cancer. These may include:
Cervical cancer is staged using the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, or FIGO, system. Within the four main stages, there are substages to account for different features of cervical cancer.
Three main factors are used to determine cervical cancer staging:
The cancer is limited to the cervix and hasn’t grown any farther. This stage is further separated into subcategories.
The cancer has spread to the upper part of the vagina or the tissue surrounding the uterus, but it hasn’t spread to lymph nodes or distant sites.
The cancer has reached the lower portion of the vagina and/or the muscles that surround the pelvic area (pelvic walls). The tumor may be large enough to cause kidney problems by blocking the tubes that transport urine from the kidneys to the bladder (the ureters). It may have reached nearby lymph nodes.
The cancer has spread into the bladder, rectum, or beyond the pelvic area to distant parts of the body.
Recurrent cervical cancer occurs when the cancer is detected months or years after the completion of an initial cervical cancer treatment regimen, which may have included surgery, radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. It may be a local recurrence, which is contained to the cervical region. A metastatic recurrence occurs when the cancer has spread to other organs, such as the kidney, bladder or lymph nodes. This recurrence happens when the cervical cancer cells break off from the original tumor and travel to other parts of the body through the lymphatic or circulatory system. The cells then reattach at a new location. When the disease appears in another part of the body, it may be referred to as regional or distant recurrence. Symptoms of recurrent cervical cancer vary from patient to patient.
Signs and symptoms of local cervical cancer recurrence may include:
Signs and symptoms of distant cervical cancer recurrence may include:
Follow-up appointments with your cancer care team may help detect cervical cancer relapse early. Your doctor may ask you about symptoms or problems that you may be experiencing. The doctor may perform a pelvic examination and a Pap smear. Additional lab and/or imaging tests may also be recommended.
A number of treatment options are available for cancer that has relapsed, especially when it’s detected early. About 35 percent of patients with invasive cervical cancer develop persistent or recurrent disease following treatment. The recurrent cervical cancer rate is lower for those with early-stage disease. Most cancer recurrences occur within two years of treatment.