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The Gleason grading system produces
the Gleason score, which is a helpful tool in classifying
the stage
and grade of prostate cancer. From the tissue extracted
in the biopsy, a doctor judges the cells. If the cancerous
cells look very similar to the healthy cells, the cancerous
cells are called well-differentiated.
If the cancerous cells are very different from the healthy
cells, however, they are called poorly
differentiated.
The pathologist studies the patterns
of cancerous cells underneath a microscope. Based on
the most common pattern of differentiation, the pathologist
will assign a number 1 through 5. Then based on the
second most common pattern of cell differentiation,
the pathologist assigns a second number of 1 through
5. The sum of these two numbers is your Gleason score.
Your Gleason score can range from 2 through 10. Most
of the prostate cancer cases diagnosed today have Gleason
grades of 5, 6, or 7. The more aggressive forms of prostate
cancer have scores of 8, 9, or 10. Prostate cancer
cases with a Gleason score below 4 are very rare, as
they usually do not warrant the biopsy in the first
place.
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