May 18 (UPI) — Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate that spread to his bones but is treatable, his office said Sunday.
Last week, Biden, 82, was evaluated after a small nodule was found on his prostate, which doctors told him required further examination.
“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms,” his office said in a statement to CNN and CBS.
“On Friday he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” his office said. “While this represents 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.”
The Gleason score is a grading system from 6 to 10 that assesses the aggressiveness of prostate cancer based on cancer cells under a microscope, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
A Gleason score of 9 means his illness is classified as “high-grade” and that the cancer cells could spread quickly.
Two cancer cells are graded on a scale of 1 to 5. The two numbers are added together to come up with the combined Gelason scores, such as 4 and 5 equal 9.
Biden, who left office as the oldest president in U.S. history, is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, this weekend, according to CNN source.
Doctors removed a cancerous skin lesion from his chest while he was president in February 2023.
Biden underwent a physical at Walter Reed National Military Center in February 2024, and his physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor said there “no new concerns” and he was “fit for duty.”
Biden’s son Beau died from brain cancer in 2015.
The prostate, a small gland in the male reproduction system, is below the bladder and in front of the rectum.
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death of men behind lung cancer. One in eight men will receive a prostate cancer diagnosis in their lifetime, with 6 in 10 cases among men 65 and older while cases in men under 40 are rare.
