How do I understand my Gleason score? Prostate Biopsy explained

What is a Gleason score? If you or a loved one was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer, this is one of the first things you'll see on your pathology report — and one of the most important. In this video, Dr. Ben Schurhamer, a urologist at Penn Medicine, breaks down the Gleason grading system in plain language: how a prostate biopsy works, what the pathologist is looking for under the microscope, what Gleason patterns 1–5 mean, how the Gleason score is calculated, and how it translates into Grade Groups and treatment decisions. Timestamps: 0:00 — Introduction 0:30 — How a prostate biopsy works 1:15 — What biopsy tissue looks like under the microscope 1:45 — The Gleason pattern scale (1–5) 2:45 — How the Gleason score is calculated 3:15 — Grade Groups and risk levels 3:45 — What this means for treatment 4:15 — Wrap-up This video is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Always discuss your specific results with your urologist. Subscribe to WellPrept for more urology and cancer education from academic urologists.