A cancer's stage describes how much cancer is in the body and whether it has spread. Your care team uses the stage to help plan treatment. The stage also can give information about outlook.
Symptoms do not reliably show a cancer's stage. Imaging, surgery and other tests are used to find out how far the cancer has spread.
There are different ways to describe the stage of uterine sarcoma. The stage descriptions here are for uterine leiomyosarcoma and endometrial stromal sarcoma.
For these two types, your care team may use the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) system or the American Joint Committee on Cancer system. The two systems use similar information. They consider the size of the tumor, whether nearby lymph nodes contain cancer and whether cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
If you have another type of uterine sarcoma, your care team can explain how its stage is described and what that means for you. You do not need to memorize the staging system.
Stage 1
What it means: The cancer is limited to the uterus.
- Stage 1A. The tumor is 2 inches (5 centimeters) or smaller.
- Stage 1B. The tumor is larger than 2 inches (5 centimeters).
Treatment: Surgery is the main treatment for many stage 1 uterine sarcomas. After surgery, some people may not need more treatment. This depends on the type and other features of the tumor.
Stage 2
What it means: The cancer has grown outside the uterus but is still within the pelvis.
Treatment: Surgery may be an important part of treatment. You may or may not need treatment after surgery. This depends on the type of uterine sarcoma and whether the cancer was completely removed. Other tumor features can affect the chance that the cancer will come back. Cancer that comes back is called recurrence.
Stage 3
What it means: The cancer has spread into tissues in the abdomen or to nearby lymph nodes.
Treatment: Surgery may be an option if the cancer can be removed. You may need other treatment too. The type of uterine sarcoma helps guide this choice. Options may include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, targeted therapy, biological therapy for cancer or radiation therapy.
Stage 4
What it means: Stage 4 cancer has spread farther.
- Stage 4A. The cancer has grown into the bladder or rectum.
- Stage 4B. The cancer has spread to distant parts of the body, such as the lungs, bones or liver.
Treatment: Treatment for stage 4 uterine sarcoma depends greatly on the type, where the cancer has spread and whether surgery can remove it. Systemic medicines often are part of treatment. These medicines travel through the body.