Tertiary Gleason Patterns and Biochemical Recurrence After Prostatectomy: Proposal for a Modified Gleason Scoring System

Although the tertiary Gleason component is frequently included in pathology reports, it is routinely omitted in other situations, such as predictive nomograms, research studies and patient counseling. The current study adds to a growing body of evidence highlighting the importance of the tertiary Gleason component in radical prostatectomy specimens. Accordingly consideration should be given to a modified radical prostatectomy Gleason scoring system that incorporates tertiary Gleason component in intuitive fashion, including Gleason score 6, 6.5 (Gleason score 6 with tertiary Gleason component), 7 (Gleason score 3 + 4 = 7), 7.25 (Gleason score 3 + 4 = 7 with tertiary Gleason component), 7.5 (Gleason score 4 + 3), 8 (Gleason score 4 + 3 with tertiary Gleason component or Gleason score 8), 8.5 (Gleason score 8 with tertiary Gleason component), 9 (Gleason score 4 + 5 or 5 + 4) and 10.