Overview

Metastatic Prostate Cancer means the cancer has spread from the prostate to other parts of the body, most commonly the lymph nodes in other parts of the body or the bones.  Also called Stage 4 Prostate Cancer.

Understanding your Metastatic Prostate Cancer diagnosis will help you and your doctors make the best treatment choice for you. Tap “Watch Now” for an easy-to-understand overview of Metastatic Prostate Cancer. The ICD-10 Code for Metastatic Prostate Cancer Is C61.

  • Metastatic Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
  • Gleason Score & PSA Explained

Overview

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A Metastatic Prostate Cancer diagnosis means that the cancer has spread to your lymph nodes outside the pelvis or to other organs in your body, most commonly to the bones. This is also call Stage 4B Prostate Cancer.

 

What Tests Will I Need and Why?

Blood and Imaging tests are done to understand your general health, confirm your diagnosis and determine your cancer stage.

 

Tissue Analysis is done to identify the cancer cell type and the Gleason Score, which is critical to finding the best treatment option for you.

 

In addition, your doctors will determine if your tumor is Castration Naive/Sensitive or Castration Resistant to come up with treatment options that are suitable for your specific Prostate Cancer type.

 

Castration Naive or Castration Sensitive Prostate Cancer is used to describe patients who have not been treated with Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) previously or are not on an ADT at the time of progression or relapse.

 

Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer is used to define patients who have failed to respond to ADT (PSA elevation or new tumors on imaging tests during ADT treatment).

 

You may also require special Saliva or Blood Analysis to look for specific mutations (actual changes in your body’s DNA), called BRCA1 and BRCA2.

 

Re-read this summary as needed and then tap, “Compare My Treatment Options Now“. Our unique Comparison Page will help you understand your FDA-approved treatment options including, who can help you pay for your treatment, where and how each is given and what side-effects you may experience.

 

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Cancer Research U.K. CC BY-SA 4

Gleason Score & PSA Density

A Prostate Cancer diagnosis is based upon the results of staging and two tests called the Gleason Score and the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) tests

 

Finding Your Gleason Score

Samples of your cancer cells are examined to find out your Gleason Score.  A Gleason Score, which will range between 2 and 10, describes how aggressive a prostate tumor is by looking at how similar or different the cancer cells look to healthy cells.

 

The Gleason Score is made up of 2 grades that range from 1 to 5. A low grade of 1 means that the cells in the tumor look very much like healthy prostate cells. Cells that look completely different to normal cells are assigned a higher score, usually 4 or 5.

 

  • The first grade is given to describe the cells in the largest area of the tumor
  • The second grade is given to describe the cells in the second largest area of the tumor.

 

When these two grades are added together, they give us a Gleason Score between 2 and 10. For example, 3+4 = Gleason Score 7.

 

Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) tests

Your Dr. also measures PSA Density to help determine the aggressiveness of the prostate cancer found.  PSA Density is your PSA level, divided by the volume of the prostate gland.

 

A high PSA density is often a predictor of Prostate Cancer but please discuss your specific situation with your doctors.

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How Cancer Spreads

Metastatic = Advanced