Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis: How much has it spread? What are the symptoms?

Former US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive type of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his office. Last week, Biden was admitted to a hospital in Philadelphia, where doctors identified a “small nodule” on his prostate that needed additional evaluation.

The 82-year-old former president had been dealing with urinary symptoms, his office reported on Sunday.

What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?

According to a report by the World Health Organization (WHO), prostate cancer usually first causes symptoms by simply reducing the flow of urine, which leads to poor stream size, dribbling and the need to pass urine several times during the night.

“There may also be blood in the urine. Of course, benign prostate enlargement is very common and causes the same symptoms. The only ways to distinguish one from the other are by a biopsy and by PSA,” it added.

In more advanced cases, prostate cancer can spread (metastasise) to bones or lymph nodes, causing bone pain (especially in the hips, back, or thighs), unexplained weight loss, and fatigue.

How much has Biden's cancer spread?

According to spokesperson Kelly Scully, the cancer had spread to the bone—a development seen in roughly 60% of advanced prostate cancer cases, based on data from the health organisation, Zero Prostate Cancer.

Scully also said that his cancer was “characterized by a Gleason score of 9," which indicates a highly aggressive form of the disease. The Gleason scoring system is used to measure how aggressive a prostate cancer is, with a score of 9 signalling a fast-growing and potentially more dangerous cancer.

Treatment

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” Scully said, as reported by Bloomberg. “The president and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

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Because his cancer is hormone-sensitive, it may still respond to hormone therapy, which involves stopping testosterone from being made or reaching cancer cells, the report said.

For advanced prostate cancer, treatment options typically include hormone therapy, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of these approaches. Hormone therapy can help manage the disease and ease symptoms, while chemotherapy may be considered when the cancer is aggressive or no longer responds to hormone-based treatments. Prostate issues, including cancer, are common in older men.

Biden was the oldest serving president in US history.

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Biden's cancer news comes amid renewed scrutiny about his mental acuity, following revelations in a new book that claims his aides tried to downplay signs of cognitive decline during this presidency. Since excerpts of the book have been released, Democrats have been debating their role in keeping him as the 2024 presidential nominee despite voter concerns about his age.

The issue of Biden’s age has arisen again because of the book’s imminent publication and the release by Axios of the audio from Biden’s 2023 interviews with special counsel Robert Hur, who at the time described Biden as “an elderly man with a poor memory.”

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Since stepping down from office, Biden has largely stayed out of the public eye, only speaking after President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. However, with the upcoming release of his book, he has begun appearing in more interviews, including on programmes like ABC’s ‘The View’, where, even in the friendly environment, he faced questions about his age.

Cancer has been a deeply personal issue for Biden. In 2015, his son Beau died after battling brain cancer. During his time as president, Biden led the “cancer moonshot” initiative, advocating for greater investment in cancer research and efforts to accelerate the search for a cure, Bloomberg reported.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)