After The Tests
Your doctor will tell you how long it will take for the results of all the tests to come back. It usually takes around two weeks. Once all of the results are gathered together and have been discussed by your specialist team, your doctor will stage the cancer.
Staging
Staging is a way of recording how far the cancer may have spread. The most common method is the TNM (Tumour-Nodes-Metastases) system. This will allow your doctor to describe how far the cancer may have spread and will help your specialist team decide what the best treatment options are. This system separately assesses the tumour (T), lymph nodes (N) and secondary cancer or metastases (M).
- T = Tumour - How far the cancer has spread in the prostate gland and nearby tissues. This is measured by a Digital Rectal Examination (DRE).
- N = Nodes - Whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. This is measured using an MRI or CT scan. This stage may not be measured if it does not affect your treatment options.
- M = Metastases - Whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the bone. This is measured using a bone scan. This stage may not be measured if it does not affect your treatment options.
Numbers are used together with each of the letters to describe where the cancer is in the body. The lower numbers show that the cancer is smaller and has not spread.
T stage
- T1 The tumour cannot be felt localised disease
- T2 The tumour can be felt but it is contained within the prostate gland localised disease
- T3 The tumour can be felt breaking through the capsule of the prostate locally advanced disease
- T4 The tumour has spread to nearby organs, such as the bladder neck, back passage or pelvic wall advanced disease
N stage
- NX The lymph nodes were not measured
- N0 The lymph nodes do not contain cancer cells
- N1 The lymph nodes contain cancer cells
M stage
- MX The spread of the cancer was not measured
- M0 The cancer has not spread to other parts of the body
- M1 The cancer has spread to other parts of the body
Therefore a cancer described as T3 N1 M0 would be a cancer that has broken through the capsule of the prostate, has spread to the lymph nodes, and has not spread to other parts of the body.