At laparotomy for a grade 2 endometrioid carcinoma, the uterus contains tumour invading less than half the myometrium, both ovaries are normal, and there is no cervical stromal involvement. Peritoneal washing cytology shows malignant cells. Under FIGO 2009 staging, what is the correct stage?
- A Stage IIIC1
- B Stage IIIA
- C Stage IA ✓
- D Stage IVB
Correct answer: C. Stage IA
Explanation
FIGO 2009 removed positive peritoneal cytology from the staging system entirely, unlike FIGO 1988 where it defined stage IIIA. With disease otherwise confined to the corpus and less than 50 percent myometrial invasion, the stage is IA. This change matters clinically because isolated positive washings carry little independent prognostic weight once full staging is done. Students trained on older texts often wrongly select IIIA, which is the classic trap here.
Reference: Berek and Novak's Gynecology, 16th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
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