Diagnosis and Staging

Fallopian cancer is difficult to diagnose prior to surgery because its symptoms are very similar to ovarian cancer. Diagnosis is usually made during surgery or when our pathologists examine the tissue under a microscope. Determining the stage (size and spread) of the disease is also done surgically and involves the use of laparoscopic surgery—a minimally invasive technique performed with the assistance of a video camera and several thin instruments—for the removal of the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, lymph nodes and any tissue beyond the fallopian tubes to which the cancer has spread. Most patients will require chemotherapy (use of potent drugs), in addition to surgery, to kill any cancer cells remaining in the body.

Stages of Fallopian Cancer. The general stages of fallopian cancer are:

• Stage I. Cancer is limited to the fallopian tubes.
• Stage II. Cancer involves one or both fallopian tubes and has spread to the pelvis (the area below the navel).
• Stage III. Cancer has spread outside the pelvis or to the lymph nodes.
• Stage IV. Cancer has spread to distant organs.

To schedule advanced diagnostic services from our multidisciplinary gynecologic team simply ask your primary care physician for a referral or make a self-referral by calling 1-877-LACKS-MI.