A cancer’s stage describes how advanced the cancer is. Your cancer’s stage is based on the size and location of the original or primary tumor, whether the cancer has spread beyond the prostate and to which body areas.
Your cancer’s stage is established at the time of diagnosis by clinical exam, biopsy findings and imaging. e3If your cancer is stage 3 when you receive your diagnosis, it will always be stage 3, whether it shrinks, grows or spreads, or returns after treatment. This makes it easier for researchers to track the survival rates of patients with different stages of cancer.
Your care team may also use the letters T, N and M when describing your cancer. These refer to a staging system where:
- T refers to the tumor and its size
- N refers to whether cancer is found in any lymph nodes and their location
- M indicates whether the cancer has metastasized (spread) to any distant areas of the body
What are the stages of prostate cancer?
- Stage 1 prostate cancer. This cancer is usually slow growing and only within the prostate. It cannot be felt during a digital rectal exam. Stage 1 cancers have a low Gleason score and low PSA, less than 10 ng/mL.
- Stage 2 prostate cancer. The cancer can be felt during a prostate exam and may be larger and appears more aggressive with higher Gleason scores and PSA levels, but it has not spread outside the prostate.
- Stage 3 prostate cancer. The cancer has spread outside the prostate. It may be in the tissues near the prostate, or it may have invaded the tissues around the prostate or seminal vesicles. It has not spread to the lymph nodes.
- Stage 4 prostate cancer. This stage is called metastatic cancer, because it has metastasized, or spread, to distant parts of the body. The cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes or other distant locations such as your bones.
Accurate staging provides your medical team with information that will be very important for creating the best treatment plan for you.