Principles of Cancer Staging for Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology

• Taxonomy is an important tool in communication about diseases including cancer.
• Main classifications are: ICD, WHO Tumor Pathology, TNM classification.
• Cancer stage represents the anatomic disease extent.
• Cancer stage is determined and recorded at the initial presentation.
• Cancer stage is important in decision making and in the determination of prognosis.

Cancer represents a complex group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth and the ability to metastasize. Cancer may affect any part of the body, and within the female reproductive systems, there exist a variety of cancers each associated with different presenting symptoms, clinical course, etiology, and natural history of disease. The essential features of each cancer include the presenting site of disease (topography), the histopathologic (morphology), molecular and genetic tumor profile, and the anatomic disease extent (stage). Without knowing these features, it is impossible to discuss investigation, treatment, and prognosis in cancer.