Your doctor will grade your tumor by using a numbering system called the Gleason score, named after the doctor who invented it. This score measures how abnormal the cells in your tumor look under a microscope. And it provides doctors with a clue about how your tumor will behave and whether it will spread quickly.
The system uses numbers from 2 to 10 to indicate how far your cells have gone along the path from normal to abnormal. A higher Gleason score means the cells look more abnormal and different when compared with usual prostate cells. A tumor with a low grade is likely to be slow-growing, whereas one with a high grade is more likely to grow aggressively or to have already spread.
Different areas of the prostate may be at different stages of cancer, so doctors normally take two samples from different areas of the prostate and examine them both under a microscope. Each sample is then given a score between 1 and 5, and these scores are added together to give your overall Gleason score. For example, a tumor with 2-grade and 3-grade cells in the two samples is given a Gleason score of 5.
Score 2 to 4: Your cancer has the lowest chance of spreading. These are sometimes called well-differentiated tumors. This means the cancer cells look similar to normal cells.
Score 5 to 7: You have a slightly higher chance that the cancer will spread. These are sometimes called moderately differentiated tumors, meaning the cancer cells look less like normal cells.
Score 8 to 10: You have the highest chance that the cancer will grow and spread. These are sometimes called poorly differentiated tumors. The cancer cells look very unlike healthy cells.
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This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment. ©BMJ Publishing Group Limited 2008. All rights reserved. |
