What happens to the biopsy specimens?
The urologist will send the biopsy specimens (often called “cores”) to a pathologist for evaluation. The pathologist will then study these specimens carefully under a microscope, and will send a report back to the urologist which includes the following information: • Which specimens contain prostate cancer and which do not • The amount of prostate cancer in the specimens which do show signs of cancer • Where in the specimen that the prostate cancer can be found • The grade or grades of the prostate cancer in each specimen which shows signs of cancer. This information is designed to help the urologist (and the patient) in deciding what to do next. Readers who are interested in a more detailed understanding of the role of the pathologist in making a diagnosis of prostate cancer may wish to read the article by Dr Jonathan Oppenheimer entitled “The pathologic examination of prostate tissue”, which provides an excellent introduction to this topic for the patient and explains the importance
