Staging Prostate Cancer at Dignity Health Southern California

Prostate cancer staging is the classification of prostate cancer into levels according to the tumor’s advancement. Your doctor at a Dignity Health Southern California hospital will refer to the four stages of prostate cancer to create a personalized treatment plan for you.

Find a Doctor today who can diagnose your stage of prostate cancer in Long Beach, Northridge, Downtown LA, Glendale, and San Bernardino and provide expert, personal care.

What are the Stages of Prostate Cancer?

Prostate cancer is staged by looking at certain characteristics of the tumor, such as:

  • Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level at diagnosis
  • Metastasis, or distant spreading to other organs
  • If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes
  • Gleason score, which measures the aggressiveness of the tumor
  • Imaging test results

There are four stages of prostate cancer. The higher the number, the more advanced the cancer.

Stage I

In Stage I, the tumor affects half of one lobe of the prostate gland or less. The tumor also has low Gleason score, which indicates that it is not aggressive.

Stage II

State II prostate cancer affects both lobes of the prostate gland. These tumors also have a low Gleason score and PSA levels.

Stage III

The tumor has grown outside the prostate gland to the semen-transporting seminal vesicles. Stage III prostate cancer has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or distant areas of the body. The PSA level and Gleason score can range for tumors in this stage.

Stage IV

Stage four prostate cancer has reached distant body sites, nearby lymph nodes, the bones, or organs, such as the rectum or bladder. For this advanced stage, the recommended treatment is usually radiation or hormone therapy. 

Cancer in early stages are easier to treat. Getting the recommended cancer screening for men is one of the best ways to detect prostate cancer before symptoms appear and treatment becomes difficult. Schedule an appointment at a Dignity Health Southern California hospital today for a prostate cancer screening.

Experts at Dignity Health know the importance of staging to provide an accurate prostate cancer diagnosis in Southern California.