Diagnosing the Stage and Grade of Prostate Cancer

Dr. Kevin Zorn, MD, FRCPC, Urologist

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Diagnosing the Stage and Grade of Prostate Cancer

While receiving a prostate cancer diagnosis is serious, it’s important to realize that most men don’t die from this disease. Like with any type of cancer, the earlier prostate cancer is diagnosed, the better the prognosis.

If you’ve received a prostate cancer diagnosis after a biopsy, one of the first things your urologist will do is determine how aggressive it is. This is also known as the tumour grade. Your physician will probably describe this as a Gleason Score, which is between two and ten. If you score less than a six, your prostate cancer is considered mildly aggressive. A Gleason Score of seven is considered intermediate aggressive, while a score between eight and ten is very aggressive.

The stage of your cancer refers to the amount of cancer in the prostate, and if it has spread outside of the gland. In many cases, prostate cancer grows slowly within the prostate gland, which is called organ-confined prostate cancer. However, some types of prostate cancer are more aggressive and spread to other parts of the body, which is called metastasizing. A digital rectal exam (a DRE), may help your urologist feel if the cancer has spread outside of the prostate gland, but sometimes the gland appears normal even if it has spread.

There are a number of tests that can help show the stage of your prostate tumour. Some signs that you might need further testing to see if the prostate cancer has spread include having high levels of prostate-specific antigen, a high tumour grade, and symptoms such as bone pain.

Your prostate cancer treatment will depend on the stage and grade of the disease. For more information on diagnosing prostate cancer, talk to your local family physician or urologist.

Presenter: Dr. Kevin Zorn, Urologist, Montreal, QC

Local Practitioners: Urologist