Prostate cancer could be an unfortunate reality for many men that are concerned with their urological health. Like any other cancer growth, prostate cancer has stages that accompany the spread of the disease. This gives both patients and medical professionals the overview that they need to correctly diagnose and treat the patient going forward. Staging is important in prostate cancer treatment because it allows doctors to assess where the cancer is located and where it is spreading to and whether it is affecting other parts of the body. This would also give doctors the opportunity to decide what the next course of action is regarding treatment. What are the stages of prostate cancer? Happy Urology takes a closer look in the following article. 

What Is the Gleason Scale? 

The Gleasons scale is the scale by which prostate cancer is studied and graded. The score is based on how much the cancer looks like healthy tissue when viewed under a microscope. The more aggressive that a tumor is, the less like healthy tissue it looks like. This is the most common scoring system that is used for prostate cancer. In this scoring system, cancer cells are given a score from two different locations on the prostate. The more dangerous that a cancer cell looks (how different it looks from a normal cell), the higher the number that a doctor gives it. These cancer cell “scores” are later added together to get a score, whose maximum amount is 10. The factors that determine this growth are the main pattern for growth, where the cancer is most obvious, and where it is spreading. Gleason scores of five or lower are not used, which means that six is the lowest score. 

Understanding a Gleason Score for Prostate Cancer / Prostate Cancer Grades

Doctors and medical professionals use the scores that they got through the Gleason scale to plan treatment. Active surveillance is most optimal for smaller, low-grade tumors. People that get a higher Gleason score will need treatment that is more intensive. A short description of common Gleason scores and what they entail could be found below: 

• Gleason X – This Gleason score cannot be determined 
• Gleason 6 or lower – Cells with these scores look similar to normal/healthy scores and these are considered well-differentiated. 
• Gleason 7 – These cells look similar to health cells – these are known as moderately differentiated 
• Gleason 8,9,10 – These are very different from healthy cells – these are known as poorly differentiated or undifferentiated. 

Prostate Cancer Stages

There are four main stages of prostate cancer. These stages also have different sub-categories that are important to understand. Understanding what prostate cancer stage you are in is extremely important going forward. A more detailed look at this is given below:

• Stage 1 – This is the first stage of cancer growth, and is usually slowly growing. This tumor cannot usually be felt and is characterized by its gradual growth. These cancer cells look like healthy cells. 
• Stage 2 – Stage 2 is characterized by a tumor that is only found in the prostate. This tumor remains small but has an increased risk of spreading throughout the body. 
• Stage 3 – At stage 3, prostate cancer is growing and this is where the cancer is considered high-grade. At this stage, the cancer cells are more likely to spread to other parts of the body even though it is localized. 
• Stage 4 – At this stage, the cancer spreads to other parts of the body including the lymph nodes and bones.

More About Happy Urology

What are the stages of prostate cancer? We hope that we answered your question with this article. Aside from providing useful urology articles like this one, we make an effort to provide top-notch services for our patients. Happy Urology is a South Florida urology practice that is dedicated to helping our patients with all of their medical needs as it relates to their urological health. What makes us one of the best urologists in South Florida is our scope of services. Our full collection of services includes the following: 

• Erectile dysfunction treatment in South Florida
• Kidney stones
• Men’s health
• Pelvic floor reconstruction
• Prostate cancer
• Prostate exams
• Miami Vasectomy
• Florida vasectomy
• Florida penuma implant
• And much more

Contact our practice today to learn more about what we could offer you.