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Staging means finding out how far cancer has spread in your body. Physicians group cervical cancer into stages I (1) through IV (4), with stage I being the least advanced and stage IV being the most advanced. If there are abnormal cells on your cervix that are not cancer but might turn into cancer, it might be called stage 0, precancer or dysplasia.
When your Fred Hutch Cancer Center team designs your treatment plan, they will take into account the stage of your cancer along with many other factors. The stage is an important part of choosing which treatments are right for you.
The stage depends on:
- If cancer is only in the cervix
- Where it has spread if it has gone beyond the cervix
- The size of the tumor and how deep it goes into the tissue
- If it is affecting certain organs, like the kidneys or ureters (tubes from the kidneys to the bladder)
Cervical Cancer Care Tailored to Your Stage
You and your family are our top priority. At Fred Hutch Cancer Center, we offer comprehensive and compassionate care — personalized to you. You'll have access to the latest treatment options, clinical trials and supportive care services.
Referrals are required for new patients. Please request your primary care provider or specialist fax all relevant medical information to the fax number listed below.
Phone: 206.598.8300
Fax: 206.598.3590
Cervical Cancer Stages
The most common cancer staging system for gynecological cancers is the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) system. This is the system Fred Hutch gynecologic oncologists use.
Here’s what each stage means in more detail:
Stage I (1)
Cancer is only in the cervix.
- Stage IA1: The tumor is very small and can only be seen with a microscope. It’s no more than 3 millimeters (mm) deep.
- Stage IA2: The tumor is very small and can only be seen with a microscope. It’s more than 3 mm and less than 5 mm deep.
- Stage IB1: The tumor is 2 centimeters (cm) across or less. It’s more than 5 mm deep.
- Stage IB2: The tumor is larger than 2 cm and less than 4 cm.
- Stage IB3: The tumor is more than 2 cm.
Stage II (2)
Cancer has spread beyond the cervix.
- Stage IIA1: Cancer has spread to the upper two-thirds of the vagina but not the parametrium (tissue around the uterus). The tumor is 4 cm or smaller.
- Stage IIA2: Cancer has spread to the upper two-thirds of the vagina but not the parametrium. The tumor is larger than 4 cm.
- Stage IIB: Cancer has spread to the parametrium.
Stage III (3)
- Stage IIIA: Cancer has spread to the lower third of the vagina but not to the pelvic wall (muscles and ligaments that line the pelvis).
- Stage IIIB: Cancer has spread to the pelvic wall, and/or the tumor is large enough that it is blocking one or both ureters or it has made one or both kidneys get bigger or stop working.
- Stage IIIC1: Cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the pelvis.
- Stage IIIC2: Cancer has spread to lymph nodes in the abdomen near the aorta (large blood vessel from the heart).
Stage IV (4)
Cancer has spread beyond the pelvis, or to other parts of the body.
- Stage IVA: Cancer has spread to nearby pelvic organs, like the bladder or rectum.
- Stage IVB: Cancer has spread to other parts of the body, like the lungs or bone.
How to Know Your Cervical Cancer Stage
After you are diagnosed with cervical cancer, you will have imaging scans and other tests, like biopsies, to tell if the cancer has spread and to where. In a biopsy, a pathologist checks samples of tissue under a microscope to see if they contain cancer cells.
Imaging might include an X-ray, computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan or positron emission tomography (PET) scan. Your care team might also use a thin, tube-shaped tool with a tiny camera on the end to look inside your bladder (cystoscopy) or colon (sigmoidoscopy).
Cervical Cancer Survival Rates
In cancer care, “survival rate” usually means the percentage of people expected to survive their cancer for at least five years from the time it was diagnosed. Data experts estimate this rate based on information about large groups of people with the same type of cancer. The rate doesn’t include the risk of dying during that five years for some other reason. For cervical cancer, the relative five-year survival rate overall in the United States is 68%, according to data from the National Cancer Institute.
But the chance of surviving cancer for five years or more can be quite different from person to person. One important reason is the stage of the disease at the time of diagnosis. Patients may also have different treatments and respond to treatments in different ways.
This means it’s impossible to predict the likely lifespan of any one person based on survival rates. If you would like to know more about the outlook for your disease, talk with your Fred Hutch care team. They can tell you more based on your unique situation.
In general, people who have the same stage of cervical cancer often have the same or similar treatments. Your options may depend in part on if you want the option to become pregnant in the future. Common treatments by stage may include:
- Stage IA (1A): Surgery to remove the tumor and possibly pelvic lymph nodes. Sometimes surgeons only need to remove a small part of the cervix, like a cone-shaped piece of tissue. Sometimes they need to remove the whole uterus along with other organs (like the upper part of the vagina, one or both fallopian tubes, one or both ovaries, or nearby lymph nodes). Some people who want to become pregnant may have surgery to remove only the cervix (leaving the rest of the uterus), the upper part of the vagina, nearby tissue and possibly lymph nodes. Some people may have radiation therapy, chemotherapy or both.
- Stage IB (1B) and IIA (2A): Options include surgery (to remove the uterus, the upper part of the vagina, both fallopian tubes, both ovaries, nearby lymph nodes and other nearby tissue), radiation therapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Some people who want to become pregnant may have surgery to remove only the cervix (leaving the rest of the uterus), the upper part of the vagina, nearby tissue and possibly lymph nodes.
- Stage IIB (2B), III (3) and IVA (4A): Options include radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery to remove pelvic lymph nodes and immunotherapy.
- Stage IVB (4B): Options include immunotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and radiation therapy. Some people who cannot have radiation therapy might have surgery to remove organs from the pelvis where cancer has spread. This could include the uterus, cervix, vagina, ovaries, lower colon, rectum and bladder.
Learn more about cervical cancer treatment.
Researchers at Fred Hutch and beyond are always looking for better ways to treat advanced or metastatic cervical cancer. Clinical trials are going on to test new drugs or new combinations of drugs. Two important areas of research are targeted therapies and immunotherapies. Targeted therapies are newer cancer treatments that work more selectively than standard chemotherapy. Immunotherapies use the power of your immune system to fight your cancer.
Learn more about cervical cancer treatment.