Gleason grading of prostate cancer: a predictor of survival.

The Gleason grading system was employed in the pathologic assessment of 82 patients with carcinoma of the prostate diagnosed between 1962-1965 and subsequently followed to death. The data suggest that the Gleason grade gives long-term prognostic information independent of stage with a direct correlation between increasing Gleason grade and cancer death rate index. Furthermore, the sum of clinical stage plus Gleason grade is a more significant prognostic factor than either stage or grade alone.