Staging
of Prostate Cancer
If the biopsy finding is positive for cancer, further staging procedures will be done.
- Staging is a system of classifying tumors by size,
location, and extent of spread, local and remote.
- Staging is an important part of treatment planning
because tumors respond best to different treatments at different stages.
- Stage is also a good indicator of prognosis.
- Staging is usually accomplished through imaging
studies and lab tests.
- Prostate
cancers are also assigned a grade, which indicates how different the
cancer cells are from normal prostate tissue. Grade gives an indication
of how fast a cancer is likely to grow.
The stages of prostate cancer are as follows:
- Stage I (or A): The cancer cannot be felt on digital
rectal exam, and there is no evidence that it has spread outside the prostate.
These are often found incidentally during surgery for an enlarged prostate.
- Stage II (or B): The tumor is larger than a stage I
and can be felt on digital rectal exam. There is no evidence that the cancer
has spread outside the prostate. These are usually found on biopsy when a man
has an elevated PSA level.
- Stage III (or C): The cancer has invaded other tissues
neighboring the prostate.
- Stage IV (or D): The cancer has spread to lymph nodes or to other organs
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