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Biden’s Advanced Prostate Cancer Diagnosis Renews Focus on Screening Guidelines

The former president’s stage 4 cancer diagnosis highlights rising late-stage cases and calls for updated screening protocols and health transparency.

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A surgeon sitting in front of screens of a Focal Onedevice performs a robot-assisted prostate tumorectomy using ultrasound imaging on April 10, 2014 at the Edouard Herriot hospital in Lyon, center France. Focal One is the first robotic HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) device dedicated to the focal approach for prostate cancer therapy. According to EDAP TMS SA, a leader in therapeutic ultrasound, it combines the three essential components to efficiently perform a focal treatment: state-of-the-art imaging to localized tumors with the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) combined with real-time ultrasound, utmost precision of robotic HIFU treatment focused only on identified targeted cancer areas, and immediate feedback on treatment efficacy utilizing Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging. AFP PHOTO / JEFF PACHOUD (Photo credit should read JEFF PACHOUD/AFP/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Joe Biden, 82, has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer, with a Gleason score of 9 and bone metastases, following urinary symptoms.
  • Biden’s last known PSA screening was in 2014, aligning with outdated guidelines that discouraged routine testing for men over 70.
  • Experts link a decade-long rise in late-stage prostate cancer cases to reduced screening after controversial 2012 USPSTF recommendations.
  • Modern diagnostic tools, including MRI-guided screening and advanced biomarkers, are improving early detection while minimizing overtreatment risks.
  • Biden’s case has reignited debates over health transparency for public officials and the need for tailored screening approaches for older and high-risk men.