An Overview Of Prostate Cancer Staging

By Nancy Gardner


Staging of tumors helps the doctor to tell how extensive the disease is. However, several scans have to be done and tests carried out for a proper diagnosis. From the results, management plans can then be drawn. This is why professionals in the medical field emphasize on prostate cancer staging.

The cancer of the prostate is staged using TNM stages. This is in the international standard of staging. It assesses the tumor, lymph nodes and the degree of spread. If the tumor is said to be in T1, it means that the area affected is too small and thus a diagnosis cannot be made through palpation or scans. A needle biopsy has to be done in order to pick this up.

Stage two in the tumor classification system is divided into three. T2a means half of the prostate gland is affected while in T2b the area affected exceed half. In T3c, the whole of the gland has been invaded by the cancerous cells. In tumor stage 3, the capsule has been broken into by the cancerous cells. This stage also has been subdivided into T3a where the capsule is the only other place which has been affected besides the prostate gland and in T3b, seminal vesicles have been invaded by the cancerous cells.

Stage T4 tumors usually have metastasized. The common areas affected include the pelvic cavity, bladder and rectum. The T4 and T3 tumor stages are said to be locally advanced stages. These are the most difficult stages to treat.

Lymph nodes are said to be positive if they have been invaded by cancer cells. They will increase in size during this time. In stage NX, the lymph lodes have not been affected. In N0, the lymph node close to the prostate gland have no cancer cells but in N1 stage, the lymph nodes close to the gland have been affected

If the tumor has metastasized, the level of metastasis has to be communicated. M0 stage means that the tumor is just within the pelvis while M1 stage means that the malignancy has spread out of pelvis. This stage has two sub stages. M1a stage means that the lymph nodes not in the pelvis have cancer cells while in M1b the malignancy has affected the skeletal system. M1c is diagnosed when the malignancy has invaded the rest of body organs. You need to consider a number of aspects if you are to make an accurate diagnosis.

Locally advanced cancer of the prostate is confined to the gland but the metastatic type has spread. The places which are hardly hit are the bones and lymph nodes. However, many a times it reaches other body organs too.

Metastasis can occur when the tumor is still in its initial stages. That is why people are advised to regularly go for blood tests and scans for early diagnosis. If some cancerous cells are found in other body organs, immediate action should be taken to control the spread.




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