The short answer
Uterine cancer is staged from I to IV based on how far it has spread from the lining of the uterus into the muscle, the cervix, nearby organs, or distant sites. Because it often causes early bleeding, it is frequently found at stage I.
Uterine cancer is staged from I to IV.
Stage I is confined to the uterus; stage IV has spread to distant sites or nearby organs.
Because bleeding appears early, uterine cancer is often found at stage I.
Staging considers how deeply the cancer has grown and whether it has spread.
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The full explanation.
The simple version
Uterine cancer is staged from I to IV. The stage tells how far the cancer has grown beyond the lining where it started. Because abnormal bleeding tends to show up early, most uterine cancer is caught at stage I, when it is confined to the uterus and highly treatable.
What the stages mean
- Stage I — cancer is only in the uterus. Stage IA means it is in the lining or less than halfway into the muscle wall. Stage IB means it has grown halfway or more into the muscle.
- Stage II — cancer has grown into the cervix, the narrow opening at the bottom of the uterus, but has not spread outside the uterus.
- Stage III — cancer has grown outside the uterus or cervix but is still inside the pelvis. It may have reached the fallopian tubes, ovaries, vagina, or nearby lymph nodes.
- Stage IV — cancer has spread to the bladder or bowel (stage IVA), or to distant places such as the abdomen or lymph nodes in the groin (stage IVB).
Most uterine cancer is caught at stage I, when it is confined to the uterus.
How the stage is found
Doctors get a first look with a pelvic exam and imaging, such as a CT scan or MRI, before surgery. But the stage of uterine cancer is usually confirmed during surgery itself, when the uterus and nearby tissue are removed and examined in a lab. This is different from cancers that can be fully staged by scans alone before any treatment begins.
Why the stage matters
The stage, along with how abnormal the cancer cells look under a microscope, guides treatment.
- Stage I and II, lower risk — surgery to remove the uterus, cervix, and ovaries (a hysterectomy) is often the whole treatment. Radiation may be added afterward.
- Stage I and II, higher risk — surgery also removes nearby lymph nodes. Chemotherapy and radiation are often added afterward to lower the chance the cancer comes back.
- Stage III and IV — surgery is combined with chemotherapy, radiation, or both. If surgery is not possible, hormone therapy or a targeted drug such as bevacizumab may be used instead.
Why early detection changes the outlook
Stage matters enormously for outlook. Women whose uterine cancer is caught before it has spread beyond the uterus have about a 95% chance of being alive five years later, on NCI's SEER figures. Once the cancer has reached nearby lymph nodes that figure is around 70%, and for cancer that has reached distant sites it is around 20%. This is a major reason doctors urge prompt evaluation of unusual bleeding instead of waiting to see if it passes.
What to ask your team
Ask what stage your cancer is, and how doctors determined it. Ask whether it is confined to the uterus or has grown further. Ask whether you are considered lower risk or higher risk for your stage, and what that means for treatment. And ask what your options are if surgery is not right for you.
Grade adds more detail
Along with the stage, doctors also grade the cancer. Grade describes how much the cancer cells look like normal endometrial cells under a microscope. Grade 1 cells look close to normal and tend to grow slowly. Grade 3 cells look very abnormal and tend to grow and spread faster. A low grade at an early stage often means a simpler treatment plan. A higher grade may call for more treatment even at the same stage.
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Common questions
How is uterine cancer staged?
It uses stages I to IV, based on how far the cancer has grown from the lining into the uterine muscle, the cervix, nearby tissue, or distant sites.
Why is it often found early?
Because abnormal bleeding tends to appear early and prompts a doctor visit, uterine cancer is often found at stage I, when it is confined to the uterus and highly treatable.
How is the stage determined?
The stage is usually confirmed during surgery to remove the uterus, when tissue can be examined, along with imaging.
Why does the stage matter?
The stage helps determine whether surgery alone is enough or whether radiation, chemotherapy, or hormone therapy should be added, and gives a sense of the outlook.
Questions to ask your doctor
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Last updated: 2026-08-18Next planned review: 2027-07-07
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How this page was created
Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes. We do not employ clinicians and do not intend to — our work is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and checked line by line against the sources listed on it. That confirms the sources support what the page says. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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