Joe Biden has received a diagnosis of an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer.
On Sunday, his team released a statement indicating that the former president had been noticing “increased urinary symptoms” before the diagnosis.
“Although this indicates a more aggressive type of the disease, cancer is hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective treatment options,” the statement mentioned, adding that Biden and his family are exploring these options with his doctor.
Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive form” of prostate cancer that has spread to the bone.
Biden’s Gleason score of 9, a scale that grades the severity of prostate cancer, has raised concerns due to its association with high-grade cancer.
Dr. Arpeet Shah, a urologist in Illinois, explained how the Gleason grading system indicates disease aggressiveness. In an interview, he noted that the scoring is based on how the cancer cells appear under a microscope, particularly how different they are from healthy prostate cells. (He is not involved in Biden’s care.)
Cases of prostate cancer in the US are rapidly increasing, and doctors attribute this to various reasons.
Pathologists assign two numbers between 1 and 5 based on the primary and secondary patterns observed in the tissue samples.
The Cleveland Clinic states that a lower grade indicates that the cancer cells appear more like normal cells.
The grade breakdown is as follows:
Grade 1: Cancer cells resemble normal cells.
Grades 2 to 4: Cancer cells differ significantly from normal cells.
Grade 5: Cancer cells appear highly abnormal.
The Gleason score combines the two grades to produce a score typically ranging from 6 to 10. “Higher scores correlate with more aggressive cancer,” Shah explained.
Gleason score of 6: Cancer is low-grade, growing slowly.
Gleason score of 7: Cancer is intermediate, more likely to spread over time.
Gleason scores of 8-10: Cancer is high-grade, possibly needing aggressive treatment.
This scoring system is crucial as it aids medical professionals in guiding treatment decisions and engaging patients in discussions about their options, Shah noted.
It’s essential to stress early detection, he added. “If President Biden had regular screenings using PSA blood tests and digital rectal exams, his condition could have been identified sooner.”
On a recent episode of “The Big Weekend Show,” Dr. Nicole Saphier, a certified radiologist and Fox News Medical Contributor, remarked that, similar to breast cancer, prostate cancer treatment varies greatly among patients.
Saphier confirmed that Biden’s metastatic cancer is classified as stage 4, which significantly lowers survival odds.
While noting the differences between breast and prostate cancers, she highlighted that Biden’s case is hormone-sensitive.
“With advancements in treatment, stage 4 cancer patients can live for a considerable time.”
This cancer type can be addressed through surgical options or medications to reduce testosterone production, which fuels cancer growth.
“Stage 4 is certainly a challenging scenario, but with numerous treatment avenues available, many patients can live for a long time,” Saphier added.
Biden’s case being hormone-sensitive opens up treatment possibilities. However, she cautioned that while treatments may manage the disease, a cure is unlikely, and the objective is to halt the progression of the illness.
