How to interpret your results

ABOUT PROSTATE CANCER

How to interpret your results

Published June 2021

When you have been diagnosed with or are being treated for prostate cancer, it is routine to undergo a variety of tests and scans, as the information is necessary to help your doctor learn about where the cancer is located and how it is behaving in your body. The information from your scans and other tests is useful to not only confirm your cancer and monitor its progress, but also helps your doctor to choose a suitable treatment for you, and you may need additional tests to monitor how the treatment is working.

What tests or scans will you need?

Your doctor or nurse will decide which type of test or scan you need depending on your condition. An overview of the main tests/scans that you may encounter is included below, alongside some common words or phrases that you will hear during your treatment journey:

CT scan: CT stands for ‘computerised tomography’ – this type of scan shows whether the cancer has spread outside the prostate, for example to the lymph nodes or nearby bones. You’ll be given a special dye, as a drink or injection, to help your doctors see your prostate and organs more clearly on the scan.¹

MRI scan: Like CT scans, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scans also create a picture of your prostate and surrounding tissues, but use magnets to create a more detailed image. This type of scan can help your doctor see if there are any cancer cells inside your prostate, if they have spread, and can help work out how quickly they are likely to grow.^{1, 2}

Bone scan: This scan helps doctors confirm whether the cancer has spread to your bones, which is a common place for prostate cancer to spread to. Before the scan, you’ll be injected with a small amount of dye that will go to the areas affected by cancer. A special camera is then used to take a picture of your bones to see if any of the dye is visible on them.^{1, 2}

PET scan: PET (positron emission tomography) scans are often used to find cancer that returns after being treated. Like other scans, you will be injected with a dye that makes the cancer cells visible so your doctor can pinpoint their exact location.^{1, 2}

Biomarker tests: To help your doctor select a suitable treatment, you may need to be tested for biomarkers – these are naturally occurring molecules in your body that can be measured to assess the cancer.³

What do your test results mean?

Your test results will be used to inform specific disease assessment tools, one of which is the TNM (Tumour, Node, Metastasis) score.^{4, 5} The TNM scoring system uses a combination of letters and numbers to describe more specific stages of your cancer:

T refers to the size of the cancer and how far it has spread into nearby tissue – it can be 1, 2, 3 or 4, with 1 being small and 4 large⁴

N refers to whether the cancer has spread from the prostate to the lymph nodes – it can be measured between x (the cancer could not be assessed), 0 (no cancer can be seen in the lymph nodes), and 1 (the lymph nodes contain cancer cells)⁴

M refers to whether the cancer has spread to another part of the body – it can either be x (the cancer could not be assessed), 0 (the cancer hasn't spread beyond the prostate) or 1 (the cancer has spread to other parts of the body).⁴

These tools help your healthcare team assess how large the tumour is, how quickly it might be growing (the “grade”) and if the cancer has spread outside the prostate (the “stage”).^{4, 5}

Depending on your results, the cancer might be treated as:⁵

Locally advanced prostate cancer – The cancer has started to break out of the prostate or has spread to the area just outside it

Advanced prostate cancer – The cancer has spread from the prostate to other parts of the body.

What treatment will you receive based on your test results?

The stage of the cancer will help determine which treatments are necessary. If the cancer has spread, it is likely you will need a treatment that circulates throughout your whole body (systemic treatment). These treatments include chemotherapy, hormone therapy or targeted cancer drugs.⁴

With advanced prostate cancer it may be possible to slow cancer progression, prolong life and relieve symptoms with treatment.⁶ Your doctor will be able to recommend what they feel is the best treatment for you, but ultimately the choice will be yours. If you decide not to have treatment your healthcare team will still give you support and symptom relief (palliative care). Support is also available to your family and friends.⁶

It is not unusual to feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of tests and scans required to help monitor your cancer and your responses to treatment. If you are anxious about having a scan or other test, and/or upcoming results, remember that this is very common in most people and there are many resources available to help you – why not choose a mindfulness podcast to help you feel more in control of your feelings or try some visual cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques to help you feel more positive. 

SOURCES:

Prostate Cancer UK. Scans to see if your cancer has spread. Available at https://prostatecanceruk.org/prostate-information/prostate-tests/scans-to-see-if-your-cancer-has-spread. Accessed October 2025.
NHS. Diagnosis – Prostate cancer. Available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/prostate-cancer/diagnosis/. Accessed October 2025.
Armstrong AJ. Prognostic and Predictive Biomarkers in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer. Clinical Advances in Hematology & Oncology 2017; 15(3): 184–188.
Cancer Research UK. Stages of cancer. Available at https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/stages-of-cancer gclid=CjwKCAiAyeTxBRBvEiwAuM8dnYMbVz6X1EdzCuU5W26dhPzFlADPg38j4QiPna1wKW0VP_iKa7oUzBoCHqkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds. Accessed October 2025.
Prostate Cancer UK. What do my test results mean? Available at https://prostatecanceruk.org/prostate-information/just-diagnosed/what-do-my-test-results-mean. Accessed October 2025.
NHS. Treatment – Prostate Cancer. NHS. Available at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/prostate-cancer/treatment/. Accessed October 2025.

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