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Prostate Cancer Stage
Staging is a measure of how far your cancer has spread.
The TNM System is the staging system most commonly used.
The letters refer to the location of the cancer, and appear with a number and sometimes another letter which describe, in much greater detail, the extent and specific location of cancer.
The most common staging levels you will hear about are:
| Level |
Meaning |
| T |
Tumor in the prostate or nearby areas. |
| T1a or T1b |
Prostate cancer that happens to be found on prostate cell samples from another procedure. |
| T1c |
Elevated PSA , with no abnormality found on digital exam. |
| T2a |
Disease detected on one or both sides of the prostate. |
| T3a or T3b |
Disease getting out to the surface of the prostate or to the seminal vesicles. |
| T4 |
Disease in bladder neck or pelvic side-walls. |
| N |
Cancer spread to the lymph nodes. |
| M |
Cancer spread or metastasized to a distant location. |
The American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) groups the various T,N and M ratings into categories labeled I through IV.
The Jewett method uses the letters A through D to express similar groupings.
| Group |
Meaning |
| A |
Cancer cells that have not formed a detectable mass. |
| B |
A detectable tumor confined to the prostate. |
| C |
Spread of cancer to the areas immediately around the prostate. |
| D |
Cancer that has spread or metastasized to lymph nodes or other parts of the body. |
The two main staging tests are:
- DRE Digital rectal exam or physical exam. DRE results are referred to as “clinical stage”.
- TRUS Transrectal Ultrasound, an image of the prostate and surrounding area made with sound waves
Additional tests, also known as imaging technology, used to find out if prostate cancer has spread into other areas of the body (metastasized) include:
- MRI
 (Prostate MR) Magnetic Resonance Imaging, an image made with a magnetic field
» List of Centers Offering Prostate MRI Exams - CT Computed Tomography, x-ray images compiled by a computer
- IVP Intravenous Pyelogram, x-ray taken after injection of special dye
- Bone Scan scan showing how bone absorbs a harmless radioactive dye
- ProstaScint Scan scan of a patient who has been injected with a compound of harmless radioactive dye and an antibody that only attaches itself to prostate cancer cells
- Lymph Node Biopsy also Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection laboratory analysis of a sample from, or an entire lymph node.
Staging tools are being refined and improved constantly - with new machines for scanning, new types of dyes and new ways of attaching those dyes specifically to cancer cells, and greater computer processing power with better computer programs to analyze and create images.
For more information about staging:
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