Staging of gynecologic malignancies

Staging of gynecologic malignancies is essential for proper management; it is important to ensure that the appropriate imaging examinations are performed to ensure the most accurate staging possible. Accurate staging is very crucial for these patients because the treatment plan and prognosis depend primarily upon the staging at the time of initial diagnosis. Many women are understaged on clinical conventional staging examination, even by experienced gynecologic oncologists, because of location of the metastatic disease (eg, under the hemidiaphragm) or because of the small size of tumor deposits. This article will describe the types of imaging examinations that are available for staging, their diagnostic capabilities, proper use, as well as their inherent limitations.