The difference between 3+4 and 4+3 prostate cancer is that 3+4 is less malignant compared to 4+3.
Prostate cancer is often evaluated by the Gleason score, which consists of two numbers, A+B. The first number, A, indicates the score of the major cancerous structures in the prostate cancer, and the second number, B, indicates the score of the minor cancerous structures in the prostate cancer. The second number i.e. B indicates the score of the secondary cancerous structures in prostate cancer.
Thus 3+4 means that the primary cancer structure is scored as 3 and the secondary cancer structure is scored as 4. Whereas 4+3 means that the primary cancer structure has a score of 4 and the secondary cancer structure has a score of 3. Although they both add up to a total of 7, which is moderately malignant, 3+4 is less malignant because it has a lower score for major cancer structures compared to 4+3.
The evaluation of prostate cancer is not limited to the Gleason score, but also the patient’s age and PSA status.