Joe Biden diagnosed with 'aggressive' prostate cancer

Former US president Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, a statement from his office said on Sunday.

Biden, 82, was diagnosed on Friday after he visited a doctor last week due to urinary symptoms.

According to the statement, he has “prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.”

His office noted that while this is a more aggressive form of the disease, “the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management.”

“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians,” his office said.

Biden was evaluated after a small nodule was found in the prostate, which led to further testing and confirmation of the diagnosis.

Prostate cancer is common, second only to skin cancer as the most common cancer affecting males, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 13 out of every 100 males will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives.

Though all men are at risk for prostate cancer, age is the most common risk factor, the CDC says. “The older a man is, the greater the chance of getting prostate cancer,” the CDC notes.

Biden is 82 and left office in January as the oldest president in history, although President Trump, who is 78, in January became the oldest person to take the oath of office.

Biden’s health had been a constant issue among voters. After a poor debate performance in June while seeking reelection, Biden withdrew from the race.

Kamala Harris became the nominee but lost to Trump, who returned to the White House after a four-year break.

The health of Biden was a dominant concern among voters during his time as president.

In the book Original Sin by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, it was reported that aides had at times shielded the public from the extent of Biden's decline. Biden, however, has rejected recent concerns about his age.

In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was diagnosed as basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.

In November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was benign but potentially pre-cancerous.

In 2022, Biden launched a “cancer moonshot” as a top priority in his administration, aiming to cut the cancer death rate by half over 25 years. This was a continuation of work he began as vice president, following the death of his son ,Beau, from brain cancer in 2015.

What is a Gleason score?

Gleason scores are used to grade prostate cancer cells based on how different they appear from healthy cells.

Each area is scored from 1 to 5, and the two most common grades are added together. The higher the score, the more aggressive the cancer.

Biden had a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5).

A score of 9 is the second highest, where “cells look very different from healthy cells, which is called poorly differentiated or undifferentiated,” the Cleveland Clinic explains.

This score places him in the most aggressive risk category, with a high chance of the cancer spreading and a poor outlook without treatment.