Pathology and staging of uterine cancer

Pathology refers to the careful examination of tissue under a microscope to find out whether it's cancerous or non-cancerous and to determine the type of tumour it is. Different types of tumours can affect the uterus.

Benign tumours and conditions

Benign tumours and conditions are non-cancerous growths that do not spread to other parts of the body and are not usually life-threatening:

• uterine fibroids
• endometriosis

Precancerous conditions

Precancerous conditions have the potential to develop into cancer:

• atypical endometrial hyperplasia

Malignant tumours

Malignant tumours are cancerous growths that have the potential to metastasize (spread to other parts of the body):

• endometrial carcinoma
  • endometrioid carcinoma
    • with squamous differentiation
    • villoglandular
    • secretory
    • ciliated cell
  • mucinous adenocarcinoma
  • serous adenocarcinoma
  • clear cell adenocarcinoma
  • mixed carcinoma
  • squamous cell carcinoma
  • transitional cell carcinoma
  • small cell carcinoma
  • undifferentiated carcinoma
  • carcinosarcoma
• uterine sarcoma
  • leiomyosarcoma
  • endometrial stromal sarcoma
• gestational trophoblastic tumours

Once the type of tumour has been diagnosed, the doctor will also consider:

• the grade of the tumour (how abnormal the cancer cells look and behave)
• the stage of the cancer, including if it has spread (metastasized) and where it has spread
• prognostic factors (special characteristics that might influence the course of the disease)
• survival statistics for the particular type and stage of cancer

All of this information helps the doctor to make a treatment plan.

See a list of questions to ask your doctor about pathology and staging.