Upgrade in Gleason score between prostate biopsies and pathology following radical prostatectomy significantly impacts upon the risk of biochemical recurrence

Abstract

•Patients experiencing an upgrade in their Gleason score between biopsy and final specimen exhibit significantly more aggressive pathological features than corresponding concordant tumours, and a higher risk of biochemical recurrence post radical prostatectomy. •As Gleason score can be more accurately assessed preoperatively than other prognostic tumour features, continued effort is required to identify those most at risk of upgrading, and to refine biopsy strategies to reduce sampling error.