Joe Biden’s Office Confirms 2014 Was His Last Prostate Cancer Screening

Former U.S. President Joe Biden had not been diagnosed with prostate cancer prior to last week, and his most recent known screening for the disease was more than a decade ago, his office revealed Tuesday.

The brief statement comes amid heightened public scrutiny following the announcement that the 82-year-old former president is battling advanced-stage prostate cancer, a condition that, according to his team, had gone undetected until now.

“President Biden’s last known PSA [prostate-specific antigen test] was in 2014. Prior to Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer,” the statement read.

The office did not provide details about the 2014 test result, nor did it confirm whether Biden underwent regular screenings in the years since.

Cancer Has Spread, Treatment Options Limited

Doctors have confirmed that the cancer has metastasized to his bones, meaning it is no longer curable. However, it may still be managed with treatment. The announcement has triggered a mix of sympathy and skepticism, especially over whether the disease could have progressed so significantly without detection.

Some critics, including former President Donald Trump, questioned the timeline.

“It takes a long time to get to that situation,” Trump said during a White House event on Tuesday. “I was surprised the public wasn’t notified a long time ago. It’s a very sad situation, and I feel very badly about it.”

During Biden’s presidency, White House health updates omitted PSA results, even as Biden underwent routine physical exams. By contrast, a memo released by Trump’s physician earlier this year confirmed a normal PSA level.

The lack of recent test data has fueled speculation about whether Biden’s health status was fully disclosed while he was in office.

PSA screening, while commonly used to detect prostate cancer, is not routinely recommended for men over the age of 70 due to the potential for false positives and overtreatment.

As noted by the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is highly treatable when caught early, but remains the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men.

Roughly 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime, with risk increasing significantly with age.