NEW YORK, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to the bone, and doctors not involved in his care said his diagnosis showed the nuance and challenges of screening for prostate cancer, reported USA Today on Tuesday.
Some have suggested that Biden likely knew about his cancer for a long time, but it's possible, several doctors said, that his tumor was missed or that he has a particularly aggressive form of cancer that was unlikely to be detected by routine testing.
Because prostate cancer is typically so slow-growing, men over 70 are not recommended for routine screening, according to the report.
"He could be receiving the best medical care that we have to offer as a nation and not be screened for prostate cancer," said Michael Morris, a Memorial Sloan Kettering oncologist who specializes in treating men with prostate cancer. "Excellent care means not under-testing. It also means not over-testing."
But someone of his stature likely would have received regular prostate-specific antigen tests, a blood test used to track prostate cancer risk, said Lee Richstone, the chair of urology at Northwell Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "I would be very surprised if his PSA was not followed regularly, even at his age," Richstone said.
Biden's personal staff announced on May 18 that he had been diagnosed two days earlier after experiencing urinary symptoms. A "nodule" was discovered on his prostate, according to his office's statement, and the cancer had spread to his bone.
