Leaders in Prostate Cancer Care
If your health care provider thinks you might have prostate cancer, you will need certain exams and tests to be sure. The prostate cancer doctors across our NJ facilities are pleased to know how to conduct all of the evaluations necessary to pinpoint whether or not you have the disease—and, if so, to what extent.
A biopsy is often used to diagnose the disease. This involves removing a small piece of tissue and examining it under a microscope. A core needle biopsy is the most common way to look for prostate cancer, and it takes only about 10 minutes. During the test, the area is numbed with an anesthetic prior to the insertion of an ultrasound probe into the rectum. That creates images on a computer, guiding the doctor to collect samples. A pathologist will review the samples and then assign a grade if cancer cells are found.
The grading system for prostate cancer is called the Gleason score. It uses numbers 1 to 5 to show how much the tissue looks like or does not look like normal prostate tissue. A grade is given to each of two areas of the prostate that have the most cancer cells.
The grades are:
- Grade 1: The tissue with cancer cells looks a lot like normal prostate tissue.
- Grades 2 to 4: The tissue looks in between normal and very abnormal.
- Grade 5: The tissue looks very abnormal.
The grades from both are added together to tabulate the Gleason score, which will be between 2 and 10. The higher the Gleason score, the more likely the cancer will grow and spread.
Gleason scores are:
- Gleason score of 6 or less: This is low-grade cancer.
- Gleason score of 7: This is medium-grade cancer.
- Gleason scores of 8 to 10: This is high-grade cancer.
If your biopsy report shows you have prostate cancer, it might show both the Gleason score and the grade group.
Other Prostate Cancer Results
In some cases, a biopsy doesn't find any cancer when there is cancer. This is called a false negative. This might happen if the biopsy misses areas with cancer. Your health care provider may tell you to get another biopsy if he or she thinks the test results may be wrong.
A biopsy may include other results. A pathologist may report cells that are abnormal, but are not cancer.
If you have any of these, your health care provider may watch your prostate health more closely. He or she may also do a second biopsy. Talk to your oncologist about detection methods and practices that will be best for you.