Incremental value of magnetic resonance imaging in the advanced management of prostate cancer

Table 1 Tumor node metastasis staging of prostate cancer (American Joint Committee on Cancer, 7th ed. 2010)[43]

Evaluation of the (primary) tumor (‘T’)

Clinical

TX: can not evaluate primary tumor

T0: no evidence of primary tumor

T1: clinically inapparent tumor neither palpable nor visible by imaging

T1a: tumor was incidentally found in less than 5% of prostate tissue resected

T1b: tumor was incidentally found in more than 5% of prostate tissue resected

T1c: tumor was found in a needle biopsy performed because of elevated serum PSA

T2: tumor confined within prostate1

T2a: the tumor is in half or less than half of one of the prostate gland's 2 lobes

T2b: the tumor is in more than half of one lobe, but not both

T2c: the tumor is in both lobes

T3: the tumor has spread through the prostatic capsule (if it is only part-way through, it is still T2)

T3a: the tumor has spread through the capsule on one or both sides

T3b: the tumor has invaded one or both seminal vesicles

T4: the tumor has invaded adjacent structures other than seminal vesicles (e.g. external sphincter, rectum, bladder, levator muscles, and/or pelvic wall)

Pathologic (pT)2

pT2: organ confined

pT2a: unilateral, one-half of one side or less

pT2b: unilateral, involving more than one-half of side but not both sides

pT2c: bilateral disease

pT3: extraprostatic extension

pT3a: extraprostatic extension or microscopic invasion of bladder neck

pT3b: seminal vesicles invasion

pT4: Invasion of rectum, levator muscles, and/or pelvic wall

Evaluation of the regional lymph nodes (‘N’)

(p)NX: regional lymph nodes were not assessed (sampled)

(p)N0: there has been no spread to the regional lymph nodes

(p)N1: there has been spread to the regional lymph nodes

Evaluation of distant metastasis (‘M’)

M0: there is no distant metastasis

M1: there is distant metastasis

M1a: the cancer has spread to lymph nodes beyond the regional ones

M1b: the cancer has spread to bone

M1c: the cancer has spread to other sites (regardless of bone involvement)

¹Tumor found in one or both lobes by needle biopsy, but not palpable or reliably visible by imaging, is classified as T1c;

²There is no pathologic T1 classification.