Former President Joe Biden is fighting a “aggressive” type of prostate cancer; his office said on Sunday that his illness is typified by a “Gleason score of 9.”
Biden’s diagnosis reportedly included metastases to the bone, according to his office as well.
Biden’s cancer diagnosis follows a tiny lump discovered in his prostate following Tuesday’s “a routine physical exam”. At the time, his spokesman remarked, “the discovery of the nodule ‘necessitated further evaluation,'”
The former White House physician claims that Biden had a malignant lesion taken out of his chest in February 2023 while the now-82-year-old former president was still working in the White House. Biden also underwent Mohs surgery on multiple non-melanoma skin cancers before to taking office.
ABC News has dissected Biden’s illness and possible therapies as the globe responds to his medical news.
What should one know regarding prostate cancer?
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) define prostate cancer as a form of cancer that develops in the tissues of the prostate, the tiny gland in men’s prostate that generates semen.
The government health department reports that among men in the United States, this is the most prevalent cancer and the second most often occurring cause of cancer mortality.
Comprising more than 15% of all new cancer cases, the NIH estimates 313,780 additional instances of prostate cancer will be detected this year.
The FDA estimates that, at 5.8% of all cancer fatalities, 35,770 deaths from prostate cancer will happen this year.
With a five-year relative survival rate—that is, the proportion of persons alive five years following diagnosis—prostate cancer boasts about 98%.
Prostate cancer typically grows quite slowly, hence detecting and treating it before symptoms start could not help men live longer or enhance their quality of life.
Still, even with spread, this is usually a manageable kind of cancer.
The NIH estimates that some point in their lifetime, roughly 12.9% of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. The United States is expected to have 3.5 million men living with prostate cancer in 2022.
The agency reports that the typical age of prostate cancer mortality is 79 years old; the usual age of diagnosis is 68 years old.
While death rates have been down on average 0.6% each year over between 2014 and 2023, the FDA notes rates for new prostate cancer cases have been climbing an average 1.8% each year over from 2013 to 2022.
What is a Gleason score?
Though it does not forecast the result, the Gleason grading system, sometimes known as the Gleason score, indicates the likelihood of the cancer advancing and spreading.
According to the NIH, it’s technique of characterizing prostate cancer based on how quickly the cancer cells in a biopsy sample are likely to proliferate and how aberrant they appear under a microscope.
The Gleason score is computed by aggregating the two grades of cancer cells comprising the biggest portions of the biopsied tissue sample, according to the NIH.
Usually, the grade scheme runs from 6 to 10.
Biden has severe cancer based on his Gleason score of 9.
With a score of 9, the cancer cells most certainly develop and spread quickly and seem somewhat different from normal prostate cells. This puts the malignancy in Grade Group 5, the highest risk category, connected with a more difficult prognosis and a bigger chance of metastases. Nevertheless, even if the cancer seems aggressive, its hormone-sensitive character presents a workable course of treatment.
Potential course of therapy
Although Biden’s official treatment plan is yet unknown, one possible course of action for the former president is hormone treatment, sometimes known as orrogen deprivation therapy (ADT), which might lower levels of male hormones that might aggravate prostate cancer development.
Even in advanced stages when the cancer has progressed to the bones, this strategy can properly control symptoms and halt the course of disease.
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels should be routinely monitored since increasing PSA levels can point to cancer activity and support evaluation of treatment efficacy.
When a condition like Biden’s has progressed to the bone and is not limited to the prostate, surgery is usually not a choice.
The American Cancer Society issued a statement following the diagnosis of the former president stating, “This news is a reminder about the tragic impact of prostate cancer in the U.S.”
“Early detection is crucial, and considering the 5% annual-over-year rise in males with more severe illness diagnosis, we are worried. The ACS added, “We can and must do more to prevent late-stage diagnosis and death from prostate cancer.”
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