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Updated: Mar 8, 2026
Author Spotlight: Advancing Prostate Cancer Research Through Improved Tissue Sampling and Biobanking
Published on: November 17, 2023
Integrating Tertiary Gleason 5 Patterns into Quantitative Gleason Grading in Prostate Biopsies and Prostatectomy
Guido Sauter1, Till Clauditz1, Stefan Steurer1
1Department of Pathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Background:
Presence of small (tertiary) Gleason 5 pattern is linked to a higher risk of biochemical recurrence in prostate cancer. It is unclear, however, how to integrate small Gleason 5 elements into clinically relevant Gleason grade groups.
Objective:
To analyze the prognostic impact of Gleason 5 patterns in prostate cancer and to develop a method for integrating tertiary Gleason 5 patterns into a quantitative Gleason grading system.
Design, Setting, And Participants:
Prostatectomy specimens from 13 261 consecutive patients and of 3295 matched preoperative biopsies were available. Percentages of Gleason 3, 4, and 5 had been recorded for each cancer. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis: RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Our data demonstrate that minimal Gleason 5 areas have strong prognostic impact in Gleason 7 carcinomas, while further expansion of the Gleason 5 pattern population has less impact. We thus defined an integrated quantitative Gleason score (IQ-Gleason) by adding a lump score of 10 to the percentage of unfavorable Gleason pattern (Gleason 4/5) if any Gleason 5 was present and by adding another 7.5 points in case of a Gleason 5 fraction >20%. There was a continuous increase of the risk of prostate-specific antigen recurrence with increasing IQ-Gleason. This was also true for subgroups with identical Cancer of the Prostate Risk Assessment Postsurgical scores (p<0.0001) or Gleason grade groups (p<0.0001).
Conclusions:
The IQ-Gleason represents a simple and efficient approach for combining both quantitative Gleason grading and tertiary Gleason grades in one highly prognostic numerical variable.
Patient Summary:
Prostatectomy specimens (13 261) were analyzed to estimate the relevance of small Gleason 5 elements in prostate cancers. Even the smallest Gleason 5 areas markedly increased the risk of prostate-specific antigen recurrence after surgery. Larger fractions of Gleason 5 patterns had less further impact on prognosis. Based on this, a numerical Gleason score (integrated quantitative Gleason score) was defined by the percentages of Gleason 4 and 5 patterns, enabling a refined estimate of patient prognosis.
