By Jill Margo – A new streamlined grading system for prostate cancer, which hopefully will give men a better grip on their disease, has been approved by the World Health Organisation.
It is intended to replace the traditional Gleason grading system over the next few years.
It is much simpler and is said to have more prognostic power. Its advocates say it will help men better understand the relationship between their cancer and their treatment options.
The original Gleason system was developed between 1966 and 1974. It was complex, with 25 potential scores. In 2005 it was revised for the first time.
Now, the latest version divides prostate cancer into five groups, numbered simply from 1 to 5, in order of aggressiveness.
It was described at a recent meeting of the American Urological Association in New Orleans. Jonathan Epstein, a leading prostate pathologist from Johns Hopkins, told the meeting the system was validated through an analysis of surgically removed prostates and biopsy cores from more than 20,000 men… read the full article.
