Question:medium
What is the stage of an ovarian cancer with bilateral involvement, capsular rupture, and positive ascitic fluid for malignant cells?
What is the stage of an ovarian cancer with bilateral involvement, capsular rupture, and positive ascitic fluid for malignant cells?
Show Hint
Capsule rupture plus positive ascitic cytology in a tumor confined to the ovaries defines FIGO stage IC, a substage of stage I.
Updated On: Jul 8, 2026
- I
- II
- III
- IV
Show Solution
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: List what the case tells us.
Both ovaries are involved, the capsule has ruptured, and the ascitic fluid carries malignant cells. Nothing is said about spread to the uterus, pelvis, lymph nodes, or distant organs.
Step 2: Recall how stage I is split.
Stage I ovarian cancer, meaning the tumor stays inside the ovaries, is split into three parts. IA is one ovary with an intact capsule. IB is both ovaries with intact capsules. IC is one or both ovaries where the capsule has broken, tumor sits on the surface, or the washings or ascites carry malignant cells.
Step 3: Match the case to a substage.
The rupture and the positive ascitic cytology are exactly the two triggers for substage IC. Since there is no spread outside the ovaries, the case cannot be stage II, III, or IV.
Step 4: State the stage.
Both ovaries being involved does not raise the stage on its own. What raises it within stage I is the rupture plus the positive fluid cytology, which together give stage IC.
\[ \boxed{\text{Stage I (IC)}} \]
Both ovaries are involved, the capsule has ruptured, and the ascitic fluid carries malignant cells. Nothing is said about spread to the uterus, pelvis, lymph nodes, or distant organs.
Step 2: Recall how stage I is split.
Stage I ovarian cancer, meaning the tumor stays inside the ovaries, is split into three parts. IA is one ovary with an intact capsule. IB is both ovaries with intact capsules. IC is one or both ovaries where the capsule has broken, tumor sits on the surface, or the washings or ascites carry malignant cells.
Step 3: Match the case to a substage.
The rupture and the positive ascitic cytology are exactly the two triggers for substage IC. Since there is no spread outside the ovaries, the case cannot be stage II, III, or IV.
Step 4: State the stage.
Both ovaries being involved does not raise the stage on its own. What raises it within stage I is the rupture plus the positive fluid cytology, which together give stage IC.
\[ \boxed{\text{Stage I (IC)}} \]
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