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Is it possible to have a Gleason score downgraded?
Prostate Cancer | Last Active: Apr 16 8:24am | Replies (24)Comment receiving replies
It happens both ways !
Reading GS is the same as reading X-ray or MRI - it is "in the eye of the beholder". It is not exact science like measuring glucose levels or counting blood cells, a lot is left for interpretation and results depend heavily on experience and expertise of the "reader". That said, even 2 experts might disagree about samples that are "borderline" and even experts can make a mistake.
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@surftohealth88 I pray for the day Gleason scores are no longer used - they are just as you said - in the eye of the beholder.
And pathologists all focus on different things! Some use depth of stain, others, the pyknosis or distortion of the nucleus, others the shape or pattern…and in the end the result is their ‘impression’…REAL scientific, eh?
Don’t get me wrong, Gleason (like PSA) has been the gold standard for decades, but with all the new tests - Decipher, Artera, etc., we need a more measured, qualitative way to determine just how dangerous a particular strain of PCa cell might be.
One patho arguing with another about seeing ‘more of these’ and ‘less of those’ amounts to a pissing contest with YOU paying the freight…gotta change and get with the times…
Phil