A spokesperson for former President Joe Biden announced in a statement Sunday, May 18 that the former president has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer following a May 16 diagnosis.
The statement provided to USA TODAY said that Biden was diagnosed with a cancer that has “a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” though it “appears to be hormone-sensitive.”
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians,” the statement said.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, affecting 1 in 8 men in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.
Here’s what you need to know about the disease.
How common is prostate cancer?
The National Cancer Institute says that prostate cancer makes up about 15.4% of all cancer cases and estimates that there will be 313,780 cases in 2025.
“I find that it’s something that a lot of men don’t talk about,” Dr. Samuel Haywood, a urologist specializing in prostate cancer, told USA TODAY when former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin disclosed that he underwent prostate cancer surgery in 2024. “Men can be very stoic, and they don’t like to talk about their health issues.”
Approximately 12.9% of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point during their lifetime, according to the National Cancer Institute. The Institute also says that there were an estimated 3,518,978 men living with prostate cancer in the United States in 2022.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
The announcement said that Biden had been experiencing “increasing urinary symptoms,” prior to the diagnosis, which is consistent with the symptoms the Cleveland Clinic lists for prostate cancer.
Those symptoms include:
Frequent, sometimes urgent, need to pee, especially at night
Weak urine flow or flow that starts and stops
Pain or burning during urination
Loss of bladder control
Loss of bowel control
Painful ejaculation and erectile dysfunction
Blood in semen or urination
Pain in lower back, hip or chest
What is a Gleason score?
A Gleason score and grade indicates how aggressive the cancer is, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The Mayo Clinic says that Gleason scores can range from two to 10, with any score below five not considered cancer and a score of 10 meaning that the cancer is growing quickly.
Pathologists determine the score by examining and grading biopsied cells on a one to five scale, with one being the least cancerous and five being the most cancerous. They then add the numbers of the two most common grades to produce a Gleason score.
Prostate cancer prognosis and treatment
While non-metastasized prostate cancer has a 97.9% 5-year relative survival rate, according to the National Cancer Institute, prostate cancer that has metastasized and spread to other parts of the body has a survival rate of about 37%, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Management of the disease may include surgery, radiation therapies, hormone therapy, chemotherapy and immunotherapy among other treatment options, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Men with earlier stages of prostate cancer can opt for “active surveillance.” A 2023 study found that people who chose watchful waiting were no more likely to die than those who opted for surgery or radiation and they suffered no side effects, other than perhaps some anxiety.
Notable people with prostate cancer
Aside from Biden and Austin, many notable people have been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
According to the Boston Globe, they include:
Robert De Niro
Mandy Patinkin
Ian McKellen
Former Secretaries of State Colin Powel and John Kerry
Former California Governor Jerry Brown
Joe Torre
Those who have died from the disease, according to the Boston Globe, include:
Dennis Hopper
Gary Cooper
Jerry Orbach
Johnny Ramone
Former president of France François Mitterrand
This story was updated to add new information.
Contributing: Joey Garrison, Charles Trepany, Karen Weintraub – USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is prostate cancer? What to know after Joe Biden’s diagnosis
