The treatment options recommended for men with prostate cancer depend on the stage of the disease. This indicates how big the tumor is and how much it has spread. If the problem is localized and the tumor is small, the treatment procedure is slightly easier. But in advanced cases, it spreads and causes problems in the nearby organs as well. To know about the treatment options and survival rate, one should understand the diagnosis and stages of prostate cancer.

Understanding the diagnosis and stages of prostate cancer
There are 3 main parameters while diagnosing prostate cancer

PSA levels in the blood
The first stage of screening involves the identification of the presence of PSA or prostate-specific antigen in the bloodstream. If it is found, the levels are categorized as low, moderate, and high.

Gleason score
This is usually arrived at based on the biopsy results. This is where the doctor removes portions of the prostate glands in different areas to identify tumor cells. The score determines the size and spread.

TNM diagnosis
With most of the diagnosis reports, there are three main attributes studied: TNM, which is basically tumor, node, and metastasis. These factors show how big the tumor is, the extent to which the surrounding lymph nodes are impacted, and how much the tumor cells have spread outside the prostate glands.

The diagnosis and stages of prostate cancer are closely related topics because the next steps to treat it depend on the results obtained at each stage of screening.

1. Stage I
When therapy is given to stage I patients, the survival rate is close to 100%. At this stage, the PSA levels are low and the grade group is 1. Gleason score is 6 or less for patients with stage I prostate cancer. The N and M values in the TNM rating remain 0.

2. Stage II
The N and M values are still 0 as the tumor has not spread to the lymph nodes at this stage. But the PSA levels are more than 10 but less than 20. There are chances of the tumor being felt during a rectal examination.

3. Stage III
There is a high PSA level observed in the bloodstream but the tumor has still not spread to nearby lymph nodes. Gleason score is in the range of 6 to 10.

4. Stage IV
The N score alone or the N and M both become 1 in this stage where cancer has spread to lymph nodes and sometimes to other organs as well. The survival rate after metastasis drops to 30%.

Getting to know about the diagnosis and stages of prostate cancer is the first step to increasing awareness about this common cancer type in men. To ensure that the tumor is eliminated before it becomes a life-threatening condition, it is important to opt for accurate therapy at an early stage by spotting the red flags.