Impact of Pathology Review for Decision Therapy in Localized Prostate Cancer

BACKGROUND: The Gleason score is an essential tool in the decision to treat localized prostate cancer. However, experienced pathologists can classify Gleason score differently than do low-volume pathologists, and this may affect the treatment decision. This study sought to assess the impact of pathology review of external biopsy specimens from 23 men with a recent diagnosis of localized prostate cancer. METHODS: All external biopsy specimens were reviewed at our pathology department. Data were retrospectively collected from scanned charts. RESULTS: The median patient age was 63 years (range: 46-74 years). All patients had a Karnofsky performance score of 90% to 100%. The median prostate-specific antigen level was 23.6 ng/dL (range: 1.04-13.6 ng/dL). Among the 23 reviews, the Gleason score changed for 8 (35%) patients: 7 upgraded and 1 downgraded. The new Gleason score affected the treatment decision in 5 of 8 cases (62.5%). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the need for pathology review in patients with localized prostate cancer before treatment because Gleason score can change in more than one-third of patients and can affect treatment decision in almost two-thirds of recategorized patients.