WASHINGTON — Joe Biden, the 82-year-old former president, has been diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer, according to a statement released by his office on Sunday. The cancer, discovered after Biden reported urinary symptoms, has already metastasized to the bone, making it a more serious health concern.
The diagnosis followed the detection of a nodule on his prostate, which led to further testing. On Friday, doctors confirmed that Biden’s cancer is hormone-sensitive, a characteristic that allows for more effective management, his team said.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management,” the statement noted. “The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Biden’s cancer was assigned a Gleason score of 9, placing it in the most aggressive category of prostate cancers. Gleason scores range from 6 to 10, with higher scores indicating faster-growing cancer cells and a greater likelihood of spreading.
When prostate cancer spreads beyond the gland, it most commonly invades the bones, as in Biden’s case. Metastatic prostate cancer is significantly more challenging to treat than localized cancer, since it is harder for therapies to reach every site of the disease.
However, because Biden’s cancer is dependent on hormones to grow, it may respond well to hormone-deprivation therapies, which aim to starve the cancer cells of what they need to thrive.
“It’s very treatable, but not curable,” said Dr. Matthew Smith of Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Center. “Most men in this situation would be treated with drugs and would not be advised to have either surgery or radiation therapy.”
Leaders React to Biden’s Diagnosis
The news triggered an outpouring of support from political leaders. President Donald Trump, who defeated Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris in the 2024 election, said on social media that he was saddened by the news and wished Biden a “fast and successful recovery.”
Harris, who succeeded Biden as the Democratic nominee after his withdrawal from the race last year, posted that she was keeping him in her “hearts and prayers,” calling him a “fighter” who would face the disease with “strength, resilience, and optimism.”
Barack Obama, under whom Biden served as vice president, wrote that his thoughts were with Biden and his family. “Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe,” Obama stated, referencing Biden’s long-standing advocacy on the issue.
Health History and Political Fallout
Biden’s health was long a concern during his presidency and became a focal point during his reelection bid. Following a widely criticized debate performance in June 2024, Biden ended his campaign, paving the way for Harris to lead the Democratic ticket — a campaign that ultimately failed to stop Trump’s return to the White House.
The new diagnosis adds to a history of health scares. In 2023, Biden had a basal cell carcinoma removed from his chest — a common form of skin cancer. In 2021, he had a benign but potentially pre-cancerous polyp removed from his colon.
Despite concerns about his age and vitality, Biden had repeatedly dismissed speculation about his ability to serve, even as new reporting in the book Original Sin alleged that aides had taken extensive steps to conceal the extent of his decline from the public.
Cancer Moonshot and Personal Loss
As president, Biden had made fighting cancer a centerpiece of his domestic agenda. His administration revived the “Cancer Moonshot” initiative with the goal of halving the U.S. cancer death rate over 25 years — a personal mission fueled by the death of his son, Beau Biden, from brain cancer in 2015.
At the time, Biden described the campaign against cancer as an “American moment”, one that could demonstrate the nation’s capacity to “do really big things.”
Now, Biden faces that challenge on a deeply personal level.
