Why health experts are shocked by Joe Biden's 'aggressive' cancer diagnosis

Health experts have claimed there is something 'odd' about Joe Biden's cancer announcement.

The 46th president of the United States has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, reps for the 82-year-old confirmed on Sunday (May 18).

The statement revealed Biden had been assessed by medics last week for urinary issues and found a new 'prostate nodule' that they say has been 'characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5)' with 'metastasis to the bone'.

There are five grade groups within the Gleason score, with Grade Group 1 considered the least aggressive while Grade Group 5 is the most, based on scores between two to 10 on how abnormal the cancer cells are.

Healthcare professionals say they are shocked to hear about the former president's diagnosis (Bruce Glikas/WireImage)

Biden with a score of nine points puts him at the high end in Group 5, however, doctors say his cancer is hormone-sensitive, so they can effectively 'manage' it with medications that block or lower the amount of hormones to prevent further growth.

However, some health experts say they are shocked by the sudden announcement, finding it unusual that Biden's prostate cancer wasn't caught earlier.

Doctor Howard Forman, a physician and professor of radiology an public health at Yale University, said in a post on Twitter: "It is inconceivable that this was not being followed before he left the Presidency.

"Gleason grade 9 would have had an elevated PSA [prostate specific antigen] level for some time before this diagnosis. And he must have had a PSA test numerous times before."

The expert added: "This is odd. I wish him well and hope he has an opportunity for maximizing his quality of life."

Biden has been transparent about his health problems in the past (Mandel Ngan - Pool/Getty Images)

Doctor Steven Quay, a physician-scientist, also wrote in The Spectator that metastatic prostate cancer doesn't tend to 'appear overnight' but 'festers'.

"Prostate cancer is the easiest cancer to diagnose. The PSA blood test shows the rate of cancer cell growth. Even with the most aggressive form, it is a 5-7 year journey without treatment before it becomes metastatic," he added.

However, he admits in some 'rare but dangerous cases', prostate cancer can accelerate rapidly and strike faster, 'especially in older men'.

According to the American Cancer Society, the disease is often caught through screening, particularly as early prostate cancers don't always cause symptoms.

Symptoms can include needing to urinate more frequently, difficulty in peeing, straining or taking a long time while peeing, weak flow, and/or blood in urine or in semen, according to the NHS, but essentially men can live with it for decades without needing treatment - and such symptoms don't always appear until the cancer is already developed and advanced.

Biden's son Beau passed away from a brain tumor in 2015 (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)

The news comes as the health of the former POTUS was a prevailing concern for voters during his time as president - and during his bid for a second term.

His televised performance in a 90-minute debate against Republican rival Donald Trump fueled concerns, prompting the then White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to release a statement to deny that Biden was suffering from Alzheimer's.

He's also been transparent about other health battles in the past, having a polyp removed from his colon that was benign but possibly pre-cancerous in November 2021, and having a 'basal cell carcinoma', a common type of skin cancer, removed from his chest in February 2023.

While he ran again for a second shot in the Oval Office, with just three months left of the campaign he pulled out and handed the baton to former vice-president Kamala Harris, who ultimately lost to Trump.

Biden used his time in office on a mission to tackle the cancer death rate following the tragic passing of his eldest son, Beau, who died at the age of 46 of an aggressive brain tumor in 2015.