Former President Joe Biden diagnosed with 'aggressive' prostate cancer: What to know about the illness and treatment options, according to experts

Former President Joe Biden was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer, his office announced on Sunday. The Democrat, who was experiencing urinary symptoms, was diagnosed on Friday following the discovery of a nodule on his prostate.

“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management,” Biden’s office said, noting that additional scans revealed that the cancer has spread to Biden’s bones. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

As words of support flooded social media, Biden shared a note alongside a photo of himself, wife Jill Biden and their cat on X. “Cancer touches us all,” he wrote. “Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”

Yahoo News spoke to experts about what Biden’s prognosis means and which treatments he may choose to receive.

What is prostate cancer?

The prostate is a male-only organ found below the bladder and in front of the rectum, and it aids in fertility. Prostate cancer is “the most common cancer diagnosed in men in the U.S. and the second leading cause of cancer death,” behind lung cancer, Dr. William Oh, a genitourinary oncologist and director of precision medicine for Yale Cancer Center, told Yahoo News.

“We know it is a disease of aging and that it is more common as men get older,” said Oh, who does not treat Biden. He also noted that while people with a family history of prostate cancer, as well as African American men, have a higher risk of developing it, “we do not know what causes prostate cancer.”

What does aggressive prostate cancer mean? What is a Gleason score?

Prostate cancer oncologist Dr. Christopher Wee of the Cleveland Clinic, who also does not treat Biden, told Yahoo News that “aggressive” is a “relative term,” but that health care professionals use it to explain that the cancer is “more likely to grow and spread than the average cancer.” One measure of how aggressive a cancer can be, Wee said, is the Gleason score.

“The more abnormal the cancer cells are, the higher the Gleason score,” he said, noting that the highest score possible is 10 and the lowest score is six.

Biden’s Gleason score is a nine, which, Wee said, “reflects a more aggressive behavior.”

According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for prostate cancer when it has spread to other parts of the body is 37%.

Is Biden’s cancer curable?

“When prostate cancer has spread outside of the prostate, such as to the bone, this is called metastatic cancer,” Wee said. “Generally speaking, this is not usually considered curable, and it becomes a lifelong disease.”

Metastatic cancer is considered Stage IV.

While treatment can slow its growth, improve or maintain the quality of life and help patients live longer, it's “very difficult to get too much more specific than that, because there can be people in whom there's only one bone spot, and there can be people in whom there's spots all over the body,” Wee noted. The primary treatment, he said, is to use medicines.

These medicines include “androgen deprivation therapy [ADT], where we lower the androgens, primarily testosterone, because that is the fuel for prostate cancer,” Wee explained.

“In addition to ADT, patients with metastatic hormone sensitive prostate cancer will also get a second hormone reducing medicine in a pill form, because there have been multiple trials showing that if patients use ADT plus a hormone reducing pill, they tend to live longer than those who get ADT by themselves,” Wee said. “And in some circumstances, we even add intravenous chemotherapy as a third medicine.”

Occasionally, a patient may have testicles removed as well.

“Ultimately, these [treatment] decisions are complex,” Wee said. “No two cases are the same, and it really involves very careful consideration of a patient's cancer, the patient's health and, most importantly, the patient's values and preferences.”

How politicians are reacting to the news

Well-wishes from Biden’s peers came shortly after his diagnosis. Former Vice President Kamala Harris extended kind words in an Instagram post, in which she said she and husband Doug Emhoff were “saddened to learn of President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis.”

“We are keeping him, Dr. Biden, and their entire family in our hearts and prayers during this time,” she continued alongside a photo of her and Biden in the Oval Office. “Joe is a fighter — and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership. We are hopeful for a full and speedy recovery.”

And former President Barack Obama shared in a post on X that he and former first lady Michelle Obama were “thinking of the entire Biden family,” writing, “Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace. We pray for a fast and full recovery.”

President Trump also reacted to the news on his social media site, Truth Social, stating that he and first lady Melania Trump were “saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis.”

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