
Former President Joe Biden had not been diagnosed with prostate cancer before last week and received his “last known” prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test more than a decade ago, according to a statement from his office on Tuesday.
This clarification comes amid skepticism about the timing of the diagnosis, with President Donald Trump and others questioning whether Biden concealed health issues during his presidency.
“President Biden’s last known PSA was in 2014,” the statement said. “Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer.”
On Monday, Trump expressed surprise about the late notification. “Why did it take so long? This takes a long time. It can take years to get this level of danger,” Trump told reporters, referring to the advanced nature of Biden’s cancer. “Somebody is not telling the facts, and that’s a big problem.”
Biden’s office announced Sunday that the 82-year-old former president had been diagnosed with prostate cancer that had spread to his bones. The cancer received a Gleason score of 9 on the 6-10 scale, indicating it is highly aggressive.
Medical experts have offered mixed perspectives. While some doctors question how Biden could have gone undiagnosed given his access to high-quality healthcare, others note that screening is generally not recommended for men his age.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical organizations do not recommend routine prostate cancer screening for men over 70 due to quality of life concerns from unnecessary treatment.
“It is entirely reasonable, albeit sad, that even a person of President Biden’s position may present with a new diagnosis of prostate cancer that is metastatic at his age,” said Adam Weiner, a urologic surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Nick James, a prostate cancer expert at The Institute of Cancer Research in London, described Biden’s diagnosis as “plausible even if a bit unusual,” noting that certain cancers with low PSA production can be missed in blood tests.
Biden’s health was a significant concern for voters during his presidency and re-election campaign, which he abandoned after a poor debate performance against Trump in June. Critics have alleged that Biden and his team concealed the extent of his mental and physical decline while in office.
On Tuesday, CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios correspondent Alex Thompson published “Original Sin,” a book detailing alleged efforts to hide Biden’s deterioration, including claims that he failed to recognize actor George Clooney at a 2024 fundraiser.
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