Biden diagnosed with ‘aggressive form’ of prostate cancer

Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his personal office Sunday, and it has spread to his bones.

“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” the statement said.

It continued, “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.”

Biden, 82, and his family “are reviewing treatment options with his physicians,” the statement said.

The news comes days after a spokesperson for Biden said the former president was recently evaluated for a “small nodule” discovered on his prostate.

“Prostate cancer is very common,” said Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt, a urologist and robotic surgeon with Orlando Health and an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida’s College of Medicine, who is not involved in Biden’s treatment. “As we get older, most men are going to have little cancer cells in them.”

Prostate cancers can be assigned a grade, known as a Gleason score, based on what the cells look like under a microscope. A Gleason score of 9 “means it’s the most aggressive form of prostate cancer,” Dr. Benjamin Davies, a professor of urologic oncology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who is also not involved in Biden’s case, said in an email.

Biden is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, this weekend according to a familiar source.