Prostate cancer has been divided into stages, so that the condition of the patient can be well understood. Both grading and staging come handy to help you and your doctor to decide upon a game plan that would work best for your condition.
Grading- Grading is with reference to Gleason Score, along with staging actually assesses the progress of cancer and also checks whether the cancer has spread. Once when the cancer cells are found on the prostate tissue from the biopsy taken, the pathologist grades it, in the sense he is able to measure how fast cells are likely to grow and spread. In the Gleason grading system, each and every piece of tissue is graded between 3 and 5. A normal tissue is graded at less than 3. If a tissue is graded 3, it implies that there is slow growth in the tumor. A grade of 5 implies that the tissue is growing at a very fast rate indicating a high risk of prostate cancer.
Staging- Staging helps in measuring the tumor, finding the location of the cancer cells within the prostate, how extensive it has spread or if it has already spread to other parts of the body. Staging of cancer can be done only after a DRE and imaging studies. The staging system is known as the TNM system(tumor, nodes, metastasis. The T stage is found by using the DRE and the ultrasound scan, CT scan and MRI. These imaging tests are helpful in finding where the cancer has spread(lymph nodes or bones). These staging tests are advised for men with gleason score of 7 or higher and a PSA higher than 10.
Text Credits: UrologyHealth.org
Contact 080 28483939 for more information on Grading and Staging of Prostate Cancer at our Specialized Clinic, ReSCUE Urology Hospital in Bangalore, Kengeri.
