The distribution of bone mets in men with advanced prostate cancer

Those who are used to seeing the bone scans of men with advanced prostate cancer will have long realized that (usually) bone metastases seem to appear in a orderly manner over time: initially in the pelvis and lower spine, then up through the spine and out into the ribs and shoulders, and then out into the long bones of the arms and legs. … READ MORE …

Under-diagnosis of Gleason pattern 5 prostate cancer

The expertise of the pathologist assessing your prostate biopsy cores may make a major difference to the way you and your doctors think you need to be treated. Indeed the following data would suggest that many prostate biopsy samples should be examined by genitourinary pathologists who really specialize in prostate pathology. … READ MORE …

Should all “cribriform” prostate cancers be classified as Gleason 4 disease?

In recommendations made in association with a newly published study of the pathologiocal implications of “cribriform” prostate cancer tumors, Dr. Scott Lucia and colleagues are suggesting that all such tumors should be classified as Gleason grade 4 by definition. … READ MORE …

Tertiary Gleason grades and consequent prognostic risk

We have known for a while that men with a tertiary Gleason grade of 4 or 5 (as  discussed below) are at heightened risk for progressive forms of prostate cancer. … READ MORE …

Does topography of cancer in the prostate correlate to risk for positive lymph nodes?

An interesting new report from the research team at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has explored the relationship between the patterns of occurrence of positive lymph nodes (LNs) and the topography of the cancer in the prostate and the seminal vesicles. … READ MORE …

The continuing importance of primary Gleason pattern 4 in Gleason 7 prostate cancer

It has long been understood that men with a Gleason score (GS) of 7 could be divided into two groups: those with Gleason 4 + 3 disease (in which Gleason pattern 4 was more common or “dominant”) and those with Gleason 3 + 4 disease (in which Gleason pattern 3 was dominant). … READ MORE …

Race, patterns of care, and quality of care in the USA

Barocas and Penson have offered a helpful new review of racial variation in the patterns and the quality of care offered to prostate cancer patients in the USA. The entire paper is available on line through the UroToday web site. … READ MORE …

An update on Gleason grading system today

A review by Epstein in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Urology gives a detailed perspective on the current use of the Gleason grading system, with specific emphasis on the “removal” of Gleason patterns 1 and 2 in evaluating overall Gleason scores of biopsy samples and the value of “tertiary” Gleason pattern data. … READ MORE …

Outcomes in men with Gleason scores of 7

Burdick et al. have carried out a retrospective analysis of data from 705 patients with a pre-treatment biopsy Gleason score of 7 treated at the Cleveland Clinic between 1996 and 2005 to see if there was any difference in the outcomes of patients with a primary Gleason pattern of 3 (i.e., a Gleason score of 3 + 4 = 7) and those with a primary Gleason pattern of 4 (i.e., a Gleason grade of 4 + 3 = 7). Their data included men treated surgically and with different types of radiotherapy. … READ MORE …

What’s hot today? Tuesday, September 2

Today’s reports address:

  • The potential prognostic significance of a tertiary Gleason pattern in pathologic analysis of prostate cancer stage following a radical prostatectomy
  • The relative safety of two types of external beam radiotherapy in treatment of patients with localized prostate cancer … READ MORE …
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