Prostate Cancer Stages: Knowing Where You Stand

As with any cells, prostate cancer cells have several stages of growth.  There are several grading systems used to determine the phase of cancerous cell growth. 

In individuals who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is essential to know the stage in which the cancer is in, in order to determine if the cancer is still confined to the prostate or if it has spread to other areas of the body.  This information in turn is used to determine the prognosis for the patient as well as the best and/or most aggressive treatments available.

The most popular system used by pathologists to grade prostate cancer is called the Gleason system.  In this particular system, the cancerous cells are assigned a number from one to five based on how they appear as opposed to normal prostate cells.  This number is called the Gleason grade. The less a cancerous cell looks like a normal cell, the higher the number it is assigned.

Usually prostate cancer is not confined to just one particular area of the prostate.  So in order to determine a patient’s overall Gleason score, a grade is assigned to the two areas that make up most of the cancer. 

Once the grades for these two areas are determined, they are added together to give an overall Gleason score between two and ten. The closer the score is to ten, the more likely the prostate cancer is to have rapid growth and spread quickly.

Another system used for grading the stage of prostate cancer is called the TNM system. This system uses the combination of the size of the tumor, the number of lymph nodes affected, as well as the presence of other metastases, in order to determine the stage of the cancer. 

In the TNM System, stages T1 and T2 are designated for cancers that are found only in the prostate. Stages T3 and T4 are used to signify that cancers have spread beyond the prostate and have begun to spread throughout the body.

In situations in which stage T3 or T4 cancerous cells are found, other tests will be used to determine the extent of the spread and locations of other cancer cells within the body. 

Depending on the types of cell, prostate cancer stages can progress swiftly or more slowly. This process appears to be unique to each individual. Sadly, in many cases, the diagnosis does not come early enough. Usually the most commonly diagnosed stages of prostate cancer are in the latter stages. 

Once a patient has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, it is crucial tests are performed to determine the stage and growth rate of the cancer. The outcomes of these tests will help decide what treatments are necessary and most beneficial to the patients.

Prostate cancer stages are a significant part of determining the treatment options for those diagnosed with this distressing disease.