TNM System

• One common staging formula of prostate cancer uses the TNM system. The letters stand for "Tumors," "Nodes"and "Metastasis." The system takes into account the size of the tumors, the spread to lymph nodes, and whether the cancer is so advanced that it has made its way to distant parts of the body.
  
  

Stage I

• Prostate cancer at Stage I is microscopic in nature and cannot be detected by what is known as a digital rectal exam, where a doctor examines the prostate with a gloved hand. Stage I prostate cancer is confined to the prostate and does not show up during imaging tests, such as a CT scan.
  
  

Stage II

• Stage II prostate cancer is still located only within the prostate gland itself. It has failed to spread outside of the walnut sized prostate located beneath the bladder but has begun to grow in size.
  
  

Stage III

• When prostate cancer is labeled Stage III it has not yet made its way into nearby lymph nodes but it has moved outside of the prostate. It may be located in local tissues, such as the seminal vesicles, which are two smallish glands near the prostate that produce semen.
  
  

Stage IV

• During Stage IV prostate cancer, the disease has made its way more extensively into regions, such as the bladder, rectum, lymph nodes, and/or pelvic wall. It may have traveled and spread into other organs far away from the prostate gland. This is known as metastasizing.
  
  

The National Cancer Institute

• The National Cancer Institute, when documenting survival rates of various cancers, does not use the same staging process. Instead it describes cancer, such as prostate cancer, as either being local, regional or distant.
  
  

Survival Rates

• Local stage survival rates are at 100 percent since the cancer has not spread outside the prostate. Regional rates are at 89 percent, with the cancer only in nearby tissue. Distant survival rates are much lower, as the metastasized cancer brings the percentage down to 37.