Prostrate Cancer

Stages

There are four stages of prostate cancer:

Stage I: The cancer is confined to the gland. In this stage, the tumor cannot be detected through a digital rectal examination and is discovered by chance when the patient undergoes surgery for a different reason such as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

Stage II: The cancer reaches an advanced form but is still confined to the prostate

Stage III: The cancer spreads outside the prostate. In this stage, it might affect the seminal vesicles, but has not spread to the adjacent lymph nodes from the pelvic area.

Stage IV: The cancer spreads beyond the seminal vesicles and might affect the lymph nodes, or the pelvic muscles and organs.

Prostate cancer is also graded by the pathologist when he or she studies the tissue removed during biopsy from the prostate. This grade system offers information about the tumor cells appearance (how much the cells differ from the healthy prostate cells) and the growth rate of the tumor (higher grade tumors tend to grow faster and are more likely to spread).

One of the systems used to grade prostate cancer is the Gleason System. This system uses five grades numbered between 1 to 5. The first grade means that the tumor tissue looks more like healthy prostate tissue. The fifth grade means that the cells have completely lost their normal features and seemed to be spread haphazardly.

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Article by Alina Morrow, MS
Medical Writer
OmniMedicalSearch.com

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