How fast does a gleason 8 prostate cancer grow

leach234
leach234 Member Posts: 3

I am not able to see the surgeon until April 10th for a consult and probably won't have surgery until 2-3 weeks after that.  I had 2 core samples of 12 that showed cancer.  One was a gleason score  of 6 at 10% but the other was aggresive at a gleason score of 8 at 40%.  Am I okay waiting a month and a half until surgery.  Right now the cancer hasn't spread past the prostate.  But it is aggressive.

Comments

  • VascodaGama
    VascodaGama Member Posts: 3,638 Member
    ... cancer hasn't spread past the prostate ...!

    Can you tell us how did you get such diagnosis of "cancer whole in the prostate"?

    Traditional Bone scans, CT and MRI rarely manage to identify lesions smaller than 1 cm. I believe that your assertion on cancer's location is just a guessing opinion. In any case, prostate cancer does not spread overnight. It takes years to settle at other environments/tissues so that not much difference in your status would exist if you decide to wait six months for an intervention.

    After been diagnosed one should educate on the disease issues. It is common to take about two to four months from diagnosis to treatment, doing several tests and exams to be certain of a due clinical stage. After that one should get second opinions on available treatments and advance with a satisfying therapy one trusts to be his best.

    Age, family, other existing or expected illnesses and financing affairs should also be considered in any decision because PCa treatments affect the way we conduct our lives forever.

    Gleason score 8 involving grade 4 are considered risky cases similar to grade 5 that produce low levels of PSA. Without much information on your case history it is difficult to opinion but I believe that you should not rush things thinking that such would influence the outcomes. Act coordinately and timely and discuss the matter with family members.

    Best of lucks.

    VG

  • hopeful and optimistic
    hopeful and optimistic Member Posts: 2,339 Member
    edited March 2018 #3
    Diagnostic tests

    Please share information about other diagnostic tests that you have had, ie image, psa history, digital rectal exam(finger wave), etc, etc? Did the pathology reveal anything else of note?

    What is your age, what about your health?

    Did you speak with doctors who specialize in various areas of prostate cancer?

    As VG mentioned it is important for you to do your research so you can make the best decision.

     

     

  • Clevelandguy
    Clevelandguy Member Posts: 969 Member
    One more thought

    Hi,

    It also depends on how the numbers are arranged, if it 5+3, that means that the majority of the cancer cells were at a 5(more agressive) and the rest were at a 3(less agressive).  So 3+5 would show less agressive cancer cells than a 5+3.  The first number shows what the majority of the cells were(grade wise), the second number is the lesser amount(grade wise).

    So a gleason score of 8 could be a 3+5 which is better than a 5+3, or it could be a 4+4(both more agressive than a 3).

    Hope that helps, your doctor should have the number mix on the biopsy report.

     

    Dave 3+4

  • Grinder
    Grinder Member Posts: 487 Member
    if

    If you got scheduled much quicker, that would indicate your surgeon is not in great demand. The best surgeon in my area had a six month waiting list. The next best was three months... I was good with that.

  • Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3
    Max Former Hodgkins Stage 3 Member Posts: 3,803 Member
    Wait Time

    I agree with all that everyone above has said regarding delays in treatment.

    While your PCa is more aggressive than most, most PCa cancers are so slow by comparison that the relative aggressiveness might not mean a great deal.

    I would proceed in a timely manner, and request sooner appointments when possible, but no need to become frantic; in fact, frantic leads to poor judgement and bad decisions.

    I was diagnosed with advanced, whole-body Lymphoma in 2009 ("everywhere").  Between the first CT and my first chemo infusion was waay over two months, and all the doctors told me the time was irrelevant. Of course PCa and Hodgkin's are different, but usually, there is no rush into treatments with many varieties of cancer.

    max

  • leach234
    leach234 Member Posts: 3
    How fast does a gleason 8 prostate cancer grow

    Thanks for the responses.  My prostate was enlarged and was around 55 cc in size.  One of my 12 biopsy core samples was a Gleason score 8 (4/4) and was 6mm out of a 15mm core sample for 40% of sample.  The other was a Gleason score 6 (3/3) and was 1mm out of 10mm sample for 10% of core sample,  

    I am 59 years old and in good health.  My PSA was 5.2 and my Urologist believes that based on my PSA score the cancer has a 99% chance of being only in the prostate.  Won't know for sure until I have CT scan and Bone scan next week.  No family history of prostate cancer.

  • leach234
    leach234 Member Posts: 3
    How fast does a gleason 8 prostate cancer grow

    Thanks for the responses.  My Urologist did not find anything during a DRE.  He decided to go ahead with the biopsy because my PSA has risen to 5.2.  Below is my PSA history.

     

    Date PSA
    10/10/2008 2.3
    9/18/2012 2.6
    8/25/2015 4.5
    9/17/2015 3.4
    12/30/2015 3.28
    4/15/2016 4.05
    8/11/2016 4.66
    8/17/2016 3.9
    1/11/2017 3.9
    7/14/2017 5.1
    8/21/2017 5.78
    11/7/2017 4.4
    2/10/2018 5.2
    2/14/2018 5.05

    It was noted during biopsy that my prostate was enlarged and was around 55 cc in size.  One of my 12 biopsy core samples was a Gleason score 8 (4/4) and was 6mm out of a 15mm core sample for 40% of sample.  The other was a Gleason score 6 (3/3) and was 1mm out of 10mm sample for 10% of core sample,  

    I am 59 years old and in good health.  My PSA was 5.2 and my Urologist believes that based on my PSA score the cancer has a 99% chance of being only in the prostate.  Won't know for sure until I have CT scan and Bone scan next week.  No family history of prostate cancer.

  • hopeful and optimistic
    hopeful and optimistic Member Posts: 2,339 Member
    edited March 2018 #9
    T3 MRI provides finer resolution than ct scan

    There is an MRI scan for prostate cancer that is very effective in indicating if there is any nodule involvement, if there is involvement in one or two lobes, will show size of prostate, may show evidence of extracapular extension, will stage the disease. An MRI with the 3.0 Tesla magnet, is the gold standard.

    In my layman’s opinion it is advisable to have such a test before any treatment. If the cancer is outside the prostate you may wish to reconsider a treatment decision.

    Basically the MRI provides finer resolution than the bone and cat scans, and is more effective in determining if the cancer is outside the prostate.

    An MRI T3 will do the job for you.

    here are some studies from pubmed about mri's and a high tech pet scan

    multiparametric mri t3 

    The impact of Magnetic Resonance Imaging on prediction of extraprostatic extension and prostatectomy outcome in low-, intermediate- and high-risk Prostate Cancer Patients. Try to find a standard.


    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26154571



    The impact of multiparametric pelvic magnetic resonance imaging on risk stratification in patients with localized prostate cancer.


    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24785987



    Preoperative 3-Tesla multiparametric endorectal magnetic resonance imaging findings and the odds of upgrading and upstaging at radical prostatectomy in men with clinically localized prostate cancer.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23040223