NEWLY DIAGNOSED PROSTATE CANCER GUIDE
Understanding Your Diagnosis and Stage Stages The stage of the prostate cancer tells you if, and how far, the prostate cancer has spread beyond the prostate. There are different ways to describe the prostate cancer stage, shown in the table below. Information used to determine your stage of cancer may include results from your DRE, biopsy (Gleason score), PSA, and imaging scans. Together, these results should help you and your doctor decide which treatments might be suitable for you. Learn more at zerocancer.org/stages-and-grading .
PROSTATE CANCER STAGES
Localized or Early Stage I
The cancer is small and only in the prostate.
The cancer is larger and may be in both lobes of the prostate, but is still confined to the prostate.
Localized or Early Stage II
Locally Advanced or Regional
The cancer has spread beyond the prostate to nearby lymph glands or seminal vesicles.
Stage III
The cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as to the bones, liver, or lungs. This is referred to as metastatic or advanced prostate cancer. If prostate cancer spreads, or metastasizes, to the bone, you have prostate cancer cells in the bone, not bone cancer.
Advanced or Metastatic
Stage IV
Gleason’s Pattern Scale
Gleason Score The Gleason score indicates what the prostate cancer cells look like under a microscope. The Gleason score is determined by assigning a grade to the most common type of cells in the biopsy, and a second grade to the second most common type of cells in the biopsy. Those grades are then added together for the score. For example, 3 + 4 = 7. The five historical Gleason grades of prostate cancer (Humpath.com – Human pathology, Paris, France).
Well differentiated
1
1. Small, uniform glands.
2. More space (stroma) between glands.
2
Moderately differentiated
3. Distinctly infiltrations of cells from glands at margins. 4. Irregular masses of neoplastic cells with few glands. 5. Lack of or occasional glands, sheets of cells.
3
Poorly differentiated Anaplastic
4
5
A PATIENT EDUCATION SERIES |
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ZEROCANCER.ORG
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