What is staging and grading?

Finding out the stage and grade of cancer is important when deciding on the best treatment of prostate cancer for you.

Grading refers to the appearance of the cancer cells under the microscope. The Gleason grading system is most often used in prostate cancer.

• Low-grade tumours are grade 2–4 . They are usually slow growing and less likely to spread.
• A score of 5–7 is a moderate grade.
• High-grade tumours are grade 8–10 . They tend to grow more quickly and are more likely to spread.

The stage of a cancer describes its size and if it has spread to other parts of your body. By knowing the stage and the grade of the cancer, it helps your doctors to decide the best treatment for you. There are a few different staging systems for prostate cancer, but the following one is used most often. Prostate cancer is generally divided into four stages, depending on the tumour size:

• If the tumour is within the prostate, this is known as T1 and T2.
• If the tumour has spread beyond the prostate, it is known as T3 and T4.
• If the cancer has spread to other parts of your body, this is known as secondary or metastatic prostate cancer.