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Staging prostate cancer
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Staging prostate cancer
‘Staging’ refers to finding out how far the cancer has spread. The lower the number the less advanced the
cancer.
TNM system
‘T’ refers to the tumour, ‘N’ to node and ‘M’ to metastasis. In the TNM system for prostate cancer, below is a
simplified description of the staging process:
T1
tumour
so small that it cannot be detected by feeling the prostate or by imaging
T2
tumour
can be felt but is still confined to the prostate
T3
tumour
extends through the prostatic capsule and may have spread into seminal vesicles
T4
tumour
invades adjacent structures other than seminal vesicles, such as bladder, rectum,
pelvic wall
N0
tumour
not found in pelvic lymph nodes
N1
tumour
found in pelvic lymph nodes
M0
tumour
no distant metastases
M1
tumour
distant metastases
Prostate cancer is given a grade indicating how fast the cancer may grow. A system called the Gleason
score is used for grading. The score is obtained by giving the two most common tissue types from the biopsy
a grade between 3–5. These two grades are added together to get a final score out of 10.
A low Gleason score (2–6) indicates a slow-growing, less aggressive cancer. A medium Gleason score (7)
indicates an intermediate cancer. A high score (8–10) indicates a faster growing, more aggressive cancer.
Content printed from https://www.cancersa.org.au/information/a-z-index/staging-prostate-cancer
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