• 1Cancer and Wellness (VIDEO)
  • 2A Collection of Cells
  • 3Disorderly Conduct
  • 4Spreading Danger
  • 5Types of Cancer
  • 6Staging Cancer
  • 7Grading Cancer
  • 8Risk Factors
  • 9Altered Genes
  • 10Symptoms of Cancer
  • 11Cancer Imaging
  • 12Screening for Cancer
  • 13Treating Cancer
  • 14Remission
  • 15Prevention and Lifestyle: Weight and Exercise
  • 16Fight It with Food
  • 17Smoking and Drinking
  • 18Radiation and Environmental Hazards
CHAPTER 7

Grading Cancer

PART 1

What Is Tumor Grading?

Another technique that aids doctors in planning treatment and estimating prognosis for the disease is called tumor grading. Tumor grading is a system in which cancer cells are classified according to how abnormal their appearance is under a microscope and how quickly the tumor is likely to grow and spread.

  • Histologic grade (differentiation) refers to how much the tumor cells resemble normal cells of the same tissue type.

  • Nuclear grade refers to the size and shape of the nucleus in tumor cells and the percentage of tumor cells that are dividing.

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PART 2

How Tumors Are Graded

Pathologists examine the tumor cells under a microscope and usually describe their grade by four degrees of severity: Grades 1, 2, 3, and 4. Grade 1 cells are well differentiated; that is, they resemble normal cells. Grade 1 cells tend to grow and multiply slowly. Grades 3 and 4 tumors are poorly differentiated or undifferentiated (are highly abnormal in appearance) and tend to be more aggressive and spread quickly. READ MORE

Not all tumors are graded. Tumors that are graded include soft tissue sarcomas, primary brain tumors, lymphomas, and breast and prostate tumors. Different grading systems are used for the types of cancer that are graded. The Gleason system, for example, is used to describe prostate cancer cells; the Bloom-Richardson system is used for breast cancer; and the Fuhrman system is used for kidney cancer. LESS
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Photo attribution of Barrett’s esophagus with low-grade dysplasia
Copyright 2008 The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP)

Photo attribution of Barrett’s esophagus with high-grade dysplasia
Copyright 2008 The Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP)

Photo attribution of researcher looking through a microscope
Copyright 2008 Rhoda Baer

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