The VANGUARD PATH Study

prostate biopsies

prostate biopsies  -  Helping to detect prostate cancer

Prostate biopsies are a core component of the patient pathway for the diagnosis of prostate cancer and men who are suspected of having prostate cancer will usually have one. The biopsy involves small samples of prostate tissue being taken which are then sent to a Histopathology / Cellular Pathology laboratory for processing.   

The tissue samples containing suspected cancer cells, are mounted onto glass slides, which are then assessed by the pathologist viewing them through a microscope.  Depending on what the cells look like, a Gleason Score is assigned which indicates the presence of cancer and the extent to which the cancerous cells look different from normal cells. Gleason scores range from 6 (low-grade cancer) to 10 (high-grade cancer). Whilst some pathology labs still use glass slides and microscopes, many labs have moved on to use digital pathology for reporting (this is explained on the next page), although Gleason Grading is still used universally to score prostate cancer. 

However, current assessment methods, such as the Gleason Grade, are not perfect indicators of clinical outcome. There are also limitations in the ability to correctly risk-stratify patients for appropriate treatment options, such as either active surveillance or more radical treatments like radiotherapy or surgery.   

We believe that by using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help assess the cancer in a biopsy (alongside some clinical information from the patient) we can provide a more accurate picture of the man's disease and hopefully offer better, more personalised treatments for men.

See more information on the Gleason Scores 

The images below show prostate tissue without and with cancer.