Prostate Health

Prostate Cancer

Staging of Prostate Cancer

What is staging of prostate cancer?

If cancer is found in the prostate, your doctor needs to know the stage, or extent, of the disease. Staging is an attempt to determine whether the cancer has spread and, if so, what areas of the body are affected. Various blood and imaging tests are used to learn the stage of the disease. Treatment decisions depend on these findings.

There are several different systems used by healthcare professionals to describe stages of cancer. The different systems may use a letter of the alphabet, a Roman numeral, a number, or any combination of these, or others, to designate the appropriate stage of the cancer.

In general, the different systems attempt to classify stage of the cancer by evaluating:

the size and location of the tumor
whether the cancer cells have moved beyond the tumor, but are still within a specific area or organ of the body
whether the cancer cells have spread beyond the specific area or organ of the body to other tissues beyond it
whether the cancer cells have spread into the lymph nodes
whether the cancer cells have metastasized into another part of the body

Results from staging and grading the cancer provide information a cancer team can use to define a treatment plan that will be presented to and discussed with the patient and family members.

This page was last updated on: March 4, 2008.

If you would like to make an appointment or talk to someone about our services, please call 410-328-0800.

Email this Page

Print this Page

© 2008 University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). All rights reserved. UMMC is a member of the University of Maryland Medical System, 22 S. Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. 1.800.492.5538 TDD: 1.800.735.2258
Physician Referral: 1.800.373.4111