Former US President Joe Biden thanked well-wishers and stressed that 'cancer touches us all' after being diagnosed with an "aggressive form" of prostate cancer that has metastasised to the bone.

Biden, 82, was diagnosed on Friday, and he and his family are reviewing treatment options with doctors, according to a statement.

"Cancer touches us all. Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support," Biden said in an X post early on Monday.

"While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management," his office said.

"The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”

Prostate cancers are given a score called a Gleason score that measures, on a scale of 1 to 10, how the cancerous cells look compared with normal cells. Biden’s office said his score was 9, suggesting his cancer is among the most aggressive.

Former US President Joe Biden diagnosed with aggressive form of prostate cancer. – AP

Dr Herbert Lepor, an urologist at NYU Langone, said a score of nine is "very high risk", but added that many men can live "five to 10 years and beyond" even with metastatic prostate cancer.

"Over the last decade, there have been many advances in the treatment of advanced prostate cancer," he said.

When prostate cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it often spreads to the bones. Metastasized cancer is much harder to treat than localized cancer because it can be hard for drugs to reach all the tumors and completely root out the disease.

However, when prostate cancers need hormones to grow, as in Biden’s case, they can be susceptible to treatment that deprives the tumors of hormones.

Dr Chris George, the medical director of the cancer program for the Northwestern Health Network, said prostate cancer is no longer curable once it spreads to the bones but that there are treatments that can control it.

Outcomes have improved in recent decades and patients can expect to live with metastatic prostate cancer for four or five years, said Dr. Matthew Smith of Massachusetts General Brigham Cancer Centre.

“It’s very treatable, but not curable,” Smith said.

“Most men in this situation would be treated with drugs and would not be advised to have either surgery or radiation therapy.”

Many political leaders sent Biden their wishes for his recovery.

President Trump and his wife Melania expressed sympathy for Biden in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

"Melania and I are saddened to hear about Joe Biden's recent medical diagnosis," Trump wrote. "We extend our warmest and best wishes to Jill and the family, and we wish Joe a fast and successful recovery."

Former President Barack Obama said his thoughts and prayers were with Biden, his former vice president, lauding his toughness.

“Nobody has done more to find breakthrough treatments for cancer in all its forms than Joe, and I am certain he will fight this challenge with his trademark resolve and grace,” Obama wrote on social media.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden. – Reuters

Biden's vice president, Kamala Harris, said on social media that she was keeping him in her family's “hearts and prayers during this time”.

“Joe is a fighter — and I know he will face this challenge with the same strength, resilience, and optimism that have always defined his life and leadership,” Harris wrote.

Biden, who served as president from 2021 to 2025, abruptly ended his bid for re-election last July, weeks after a halting performance during a debate against Trump prompted panic among his fellow Democrats. Harris took over as the party's nominee but lost in November to Trump.

Biden's physical health and mental acuity drew intense media scrutiny even before the debate. At the time of his election, Biden was the oldest person to win the presidency.

Trump, 78, broke that record when he defeated Harris last year.

The health of Biden was a dominant concern among voters during his time as president. After a calamitous debate performance in June while seeking reelection, Biden abandoned his bid for a second term. Harris became the nominee and lost to Trump, a Republican who returned to the White House after a four-year hiatus.

But in recent days, Biden rejected concerns about his age.

Joe Biden launches his cancer moonshot initiative. – file

In February 2023, Biden had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer. And in November 2021, he had a polyp removed from his colon that was a benign, but potentially pre-cancerous lesion.

Some prominent Democrats have recently acknowledged that it was an error to advance Biden as the nominee, given widespread concerns among voters about his age. Long before the debate, Reuters/Ipsos polls showed a majority of Americans, including most Democrats, believed Biden was too old to serve a second term.

"It was a mistake for Democrats to not listen to the voters earlier," Democratic US Senator Chris Murphy told NBC News' Meet the Press on Sunday morning, before Biden's diagnosis was announced.

In 2022, Biden made a “cancer moonshot” one of his administration's priorities with the goal of halving the cancer death rate over the next 25 years. The initiative was a continuation of his work as vice president to address a disease that had killed his older son, Beau, who died from brain cancer in 2015.

Biden, when announcing the goal to halve the cancer death rate, said this could be an “American moment to prove to ourselves and, quite frankly, the world that we can do really big things”.

What to know about prostate cancer

Prostate cancer starts in the prostate, a small gland that produces semen fluid. It is one of the most common cancers in men, who can live for decades without symptoms or needing treatment because it often grows slowly.

In the US, it is the most diagnosed cancer in men after skin cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer death after lung cancer. About 1-in-8 men will be diagnosed in their lifetime. Most cases are classified as acinar adenocarcinomas, which usually grow slowly, though some can be aggressive. Early diagnosis helps with survival rates.

How common is prostate cancer?

The American Cancer Society's estimates for prostate cancer in the United States for 2025 are about 313,780 new cases of prostate cancer and about 35,770 deaths from prostate cancer.

The number of prostate cancers diagnosed in the US each year declined sharply from 2007 to 2014, coinciding with fewer men being screened because of changes in screening recommendations. Since 2014, however, the incidence rate has increased by 3 per cent per year.

Risk factors

Researchers have found some factors that can affect prostate cancer risk: older age, ethnicity, and family history.

Symptoms

Prostate cancer symptoms can include changes in urination, erectile dysfunction, blood in urine or semen, and in some cases, bone pain or fatigue.

How is prostate cancer treated?

Prostate cancer treatment varies by case and may include surgery, radiation, cryotherapy, hormone therapy, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted drugs.

Complications

When cancer spreads, it usually reaches the bones first. Bone metastasis can cause severe pain, fractures, spinal cord compression, and dangerous calcium levels. Managing these complications is crucial. While standard therapies help, additional treatments specifically target bone-related issues.

What about President Biden?

Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer with metastasis to the bone, and he and his family are reviewing treatment options, his office said. Cancers that have spread, or metastasized, are considered Stage 4, the most advanced.

Biden's office on Sunday added that the cancer scored a nine out of 10 on the Gleason score grading system, at the top end of the system used to help determine the aggressiveness of prostate cancer.

Deaths from prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among American men, with 1 in 44 dying from it. While it can be serious, most men diagnosed with it survive. From 1993 to 2022, the death rate dropped by half, thanks to early detection and better treatment. However, this decline has recently slowed as more cases are being found at advanced stages. According to the WHO, in 2022, prostate cancer caused 21,819 deaths in the United States in men over the age of 75.