{"id":229047,"date":"2026-03-31T19:49:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T19:49:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/229047\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T19:49:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T19:49:14","slug":"what-is-a-gleason-score-for-prostate-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/229047\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Gleason score for prostate cancer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever been diagnosed with prostate cancer<\/a>, you were likely given a Gleason score. A Gleason score is part of the grading system we use for prostate cancer.<\/p>\n

Here, I\u2019ll break down how Gleason scores are determined, what each score means and how we use them to guide prostate cancer treatment<\/a>. Don\u2019t worry: you won\u2019t need a calculator! \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What is a Gleason score?<\/p>\n

After a prostate biopsy<\/a>, a pathologist examines the tissue samples under a microscope. If cancer is found, the pathologist will look for patterns within the cancer cells and compare them with normal prostate cells.<\/p>\n

As cancer cells mutate<\/a>, they start to look less like healthy cells and more abnormal. How abnormal those cell patterns look determines the Gleason score.<\/p>\n

The pathologist will identify the two patterns they see the most within the cancer cells and assign a grade to each.<\/p>\n

Historically, grades were given on a scale of 1 to 5, with Grade 1 being cancer cells that looked a lot like normal cells and Grade 5 being cancer cells that looked the most abnormal. The two grades were then added together to determine the Gleason score.<\/p>\n

Now that we have better pathology techniques, most pathologists no longer use Grades 1 and 2. The cell changes are so small that medical experts don\u2019t think they actually rise to the level of being cancerous.<\/p>\n

So, this means a Gleason score of 6 (3+3) or higher is considered prostate cancer. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What does your Gleason score mean?<\/p>\n

Your Gleason score can range from 6 to 10, with 6 being the least aggressive prostate cancer and 10 being the most aggressive. Here are all the potential scores:<\/p>\n

Gleason score 6: (3+3)
\nGleason score 7: (3+4 and 4+3)
\nGleason score 8: (3+5, 4+4 and 5+3)
\nGleason score 9: (4+5 and 5+4)
\nGleason score 10: (5+5)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note that the first number in a Gleason score is the cell pattern that the pathologist sees the most in the sample. So, 4+3 is considered more aggressive than 3+4, even though they are both Gleason 7. Why? Because we know that there were more cells that looked abnormal in 4+3.<\/p>\n

Prostate cancer Grade Groups<\/p>\n

With so many number variations, Gleason scores can often be confusing for patients.<\/p>\n

So, many doctors have adopted the Grade Group system to simplify grading prostate cancer. There are five Grade Groups (1 to 5), and they each correspond with Gleason scores.<\/p>\n

Grade Group 1: Gleason score 6
\nGrade Group 2: Gleason score 7 (3+4)
\nGrade Group 3: Gleason score 7 (4+3)
\nGrade Group 4: Gleason score 8
\nGrade Group 5: Gleason score 9 or 10 \u00a0<\/p>\n

Grade Group 1 has the lowest risk of harm. It\u2019s the least aggressive. That means the cancer grows slowly and is not likely to spread<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Grade Groups 2 and 3 are intermediate risk, with Grade Group 2 (3+4) being \u2018favorable\u2019 intermediate risk and Grade Group 3 (4+3) being \u2018unfavorable\u2019 intermediate risk.<\/p>\n

Grade Groups 4 and 5 have the highest risk of harm. The cancer grows the fastest of all Grade Groups and is more likely to spread.<\/p>\n

Some hospitals use only the Gleason score, while others use the Gleason score and Grade Group. UT MD Anderson uses both the Gleason score and Grade Groups.<\/p>\n

Gleason score\u00a0 \u00a0
\nGrade Group\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0
\nWhat it means\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0
\nGleason score 6\u00a0
\nGrade Group 1
\nThe cells look a lot like normal prostate cells. The cancer is likely to grow slowly, or not at all.\u00a0
\nGleason score 7 (3+4)\u00a0
\nGrade Group 2
\nMost of the cells look like normal prostate cells. The cancer is likely to grow slowly.
\nGleason score 7 (4+3)\u00a0
\nGrade Group 3
\nMost of the cells look less like normal prostate cells. The cancer may grow slowly or at a moderate rate.
\nGleason score 8
\nGrade Group 4
\nMost of the cells do not look like normal prostate cells. The cancer may grow at a moderate rate or quickly.
\nGleason score 9 or 10
\nGrade Group 5
\nMost or all of the cells look abnormal. The cancer is likely to grow quickly, and it has the highest chance of spreading.<\/p>\n

What is a normal Gleason score?<\/p>\n

Technically, a \u201cnormal\u201d Gleason score would be not having one at all. A Gleason score means that you have prostate cancer, so there are abnormal cells present in the prostate.<\/p>\n

That said, the most common type of prostate cancer is Gleason 6, or Grade Group 1. We see far more low-risk prostate cancers than we do high-risk prostate cancers.<\/p>\n

How your Gleason score helps guide prostate cancer treatment<\/p>\n

Your Gleason score helps guide prostate cancer treatment because the cancer\u2019s grade can help doctors predict how quickly the cancer will grow. This allows them to select the best treatment options<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Your doctor will also consider other factors, such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels<\/a> and your overall health when developing a treatment plan.<\/p>\n

Prostate cancer in general is a slow-growing cancer compared to other types of cancer. So, Gleason 6 prostate cancer is a slow-growing version of a slow-growing cancer.<\/p>\n

Treatment for low-risk prostate cancer<\/p>\n

Gleason 6 prostate cancer is not life-threatening. We typically recommend active surveillance, where we\u2019ll closely monitor the cancer for any changes. You\u2019ll have regular follow-up visits with your doctor that may include prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests, digital rectal exams, MRIs<\/a> or repeat prostate biopsies. If your doctor notices any concerning changes, they may recommend that you begin treatment, such as surgery<\/a> or radiation therapy<\/a>. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Treatment for intermediate-risk prostate cancer<\/p>\n

Gleason 7 is somewhat of a middle ground. That\u2019s because there are several treatment options. Intermediate-risk prostate cancer can often be cured with treatment.<\/p>\n

If the cancer is a 3+4, there\u2019s a \u2018favorable\u2019 intermediate risk. Your doctor might recommend any of the following:<\/p>\n

Patients can have a hard time understanding 3+4 because they aren\u2019t sure which treatment option to choose. Be sure to talk to your doctor about any concerns or questions you have. That way, you can work together to find the best treatment plan for you.<\/p>\n

Treatment is almost always recommended for 4+3 prostate cancer as there is an \u2018unfavorable\u2019 intermediate risk. But you\u2019ll never need to be treated right away for prostate cancer that is localized, or just located within the prostate<\/a>. There\u2019s often a window of several months between diagnosis<\/a> and when you begin treatment. This means you can take the time to have meaningful conversations with your loved ones and care team to determine the best path forward.<\/p>\n

Treatment for high-risk prostate cancer<\/p>\n

Gleason 8, 9 and 10 are the fastest growing types of prostate cancer. I usually tell patients it\u2019s similar to having a fast turtle. Yes, it is fast, but fast for a turtle. It\u2019s not a cheetah. So, Gleason 8, 9 and 10 are fast-growing versions of a slow-growing cancer.<\/p>\n

Treatment is almost always recommended for these types of prostate cancer because they have the highest chance of becoming metastatic<\/a>, which is when the cancer spreads outside of the prostate to other parts of the body. This is also known as stage IV prostate cancer.<\/p>\n

Treatment for metastatic prostate cancer<\/a> may include systemic therapies like hormone therapy, chemotherapy<\/a> or radiation therapy. While metastatic prostate cancer is not curable, it is treatable. There are several clinical trials studying how new drugs and drug combinations can help treat metastatic prostate cancer. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What else should men know about the Gleason score?<\/p>\n

Pathologists are the ones who derive the Gleason score from prostate tissue samples. So, whenever someone comes to UT MD Anderson after having a prostate biopsy done elsewhere, we always strongly encourage them to have their pathology report reviewed<\/a> by our pathologists.<\/p>\n

At UT MD Anderson, we have subspecialist genitourinary pathologists who only look at prostate biopsies, day in and day out. They provide a great level of detail in the pathology reports.<\/p>\n

For example, for Gleason 7, our pathologists will tell us what percentage is pattern 4. A 3+4 means that there is a majority of pattern 3. But if there\u2019s 99% pattern 3 and just 1% pattern 4, that\u2019s very different than if there\u2019s 60% pattern 3 and 40% pattern 4.<\/p>\n

This is helpful for doctors to know about Gleason 7 because if there\u2019s just a very small percentage of pattern 4, we could potentially just do active surveillance. But if it\u2019s just less than half \u2013 say, 45% \u2013 we may recommend treatment.<\/p>\n

Trying to understand how we grade prostate cancer can be confusing at first. But we\u2019re here to help you. Let your care team know if you have any questions about your Gleason score or your prostate cancer diagnosis. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lisly Ch\u00e9ry, M.D.<\/a>, is a urologic oncologist at UT MD Anderson in Sugar Land.<\/p>\n

Request an appointment at UT MD Anderson online<\/a> or call 1-877-632-6789.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019ve ever been diagnosed with prostate cancer, you were likely given a Gleason score. A Gleason score…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1145,1143,56,58,57,39161,39164,1148,62068,2822],"class_list":{"0":"post-229047","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-caregivers","9":"tag-diagnosis-treatment","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-houston-headlines","12":"tag-houston-news","13":"tag-in-treatment","14":"tag-newly-diagnosed","15":"tag-patients","16":"tag-prostate-cancer","17":"tag-survivors"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}