How bad is Joe Biden’s prostate cancer?

Former US president Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, and is reviewing treatment options, his office said Sunday. On Friday, the 82-year-old Democrat was diagnosed with the disease after he experienced urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found, a statement from his […]

Former US president Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, and is reviewing treatment options, his office said Sunday.

On Friday, the 82-year-old Democrat was diagnosed with the disease after he experienced urinary symptoms and a prostate nodule was found, a statement from 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,” it continued.

 

Killer cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in men, with the American Cancer Society reporting that one in eight men in the United States is diagnosed with it over their lifetime.

While it is highly treatable if discovered early, it is the second leading cause of cancer death in men, the organisation said.

Hormone therapy is a common treatment that can shrink tumours and slow cancer growth, but it is not a cure.

According to the statement, Biden’s cancer was found to have “a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5).”

Prostate cancer that looks “very abnormal” is assigned the highest rating, Grade 5, according to the American Cancer Society. The Gleason Score goes up to 10, indicating the seriousness of Biden’s disease.

 

What is a Gleason score?

A Gleason Score is a system for grading the aggressiveness of prostate cancer, meaning how quickly it could spread.

However, the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) points out that the newer ISUP grade — which was referred to by Biden’s office as a “grade group” score — system is more accurate and easier to understand.

They’re both given after analysing a sample of a patient’s prostate and are different to the cancer staging numbers.

“If prostate cancer is found in a biopsy sample, the pathologist will assign it a grade, which is based on how abnormal the cancer looks under the microscope,” the American Cancer Society’s website explains.

“Higher-grade cancers look more abnormal, and they are more likely to grow fast.”

The Gleason score system works by identifying the two most common patterns of cells, the PCFA website says.

Those patterns are assigned a score from one to five — one is non-cancerous and five is the most aggressive.

“However, the one and two scores are rarely used anymore, so the lowest Gleason score pattern is three,” the PCFA website explains.

Mr Biden’s Gleason score of nine means his cancer is quite aggressive.

Jeffrey Kuhlman, who was the White House physician from 2000-2013, told the ABC a Gleason score of nine was “the score you do not want to have”.

Overall, Gleason scores range from two to 10, with 10 being the most aggressive.

For context, doctors will generally say a person has prostate cancer if their score is between six and 10.

A grade group five is considered the most aggressive and highest risk.

Biden left office in January this year as the oldest serving US president in history, and was dogged by questions, including from Democratic voters, over his health and age for much of his term – and whether he could handle the office’s demands.

 

Personal tragedy

Biden’s life has been marked by personal tragedy. In 1972, his first wife and baby daughter were killed in a car crash.

His son Beau Biden died aged 46 of an aggressive form of brain cancer in 2015, a loss which touched many Americans.

In the wake of Beau Biden’s death, then-president Barack Obama launched a “cancer moonshot” bid to corral the disease in the United States, tasking Biden, then his vice president, with leading the effort.

“It’s personal for me,” Biden said at the time.

“But it’s also personal for nearly every American, and millions of people around the world. We all know someone who has had cancer, or is fighting to beat it.”

“Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe,” Obama said Sunday.

“I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace,” he added in a statement on X.

Donald Trump’s administration cut cancer research funding by 31 per cent in the first three months of 2025 compared to the same period last year, a Senate report showed earlier this month.

 

Gratitude

Biden expressed his gratitude to Americans on Monday for their “love and support” after his diagnosis.

“Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places,” Biden posted on X with a photograph of him and his wife.

“Thank you for lifting us up with love and support,” he said.

Trump, who has long derided Biden over his cognitive abilities and his record in office, said he was “saddened” by the news.

“We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery,” Trump, 78, posted Sunday.

“Joe is a fighter,” Kamarra Harris, who stepped in as Democratic nominee in the battle against Trump after Biden dropped out of last year’s presidential election, said.

“I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership,” she added.