LEBANON – The office of President Joe Biden announced Sunday afternoon that Biden, 82, was diagnosed on Friday with prostate cancer that had metastasized in his skeleton. While the aggressive form of cancer the former president was diagnosed with is rare, prostate cancer overall is not: according to the American Cancer Society, about one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. Other than skin cancer, prostate cancer, which can range from slow-growing to aggressive, is the most common cancer in men in the United States, and the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind lung cancer.

“The treatment for prostate cancer depends on the stage of the disease, the patient’s overall health, and personal preferences,” said Lawrence M. Dagrosa, MD, a urologist who treats prostate cancer patients at Dartmouth Cancer Center. “Common treatment options may include active surveillance for early-stage or slow-growing prostate cancer, surgery (prostatectomy), radiation therapy, hormone therapy, chemotherapy or immunotherapy.”

Many men know that they should start screening for prostate cancer as they get older, but other factors besides age play a role in a man’s individual risk factor. “Symptoms of prostate cancer generally only appear in later stages,” Dagrosa said. “Men over the age of 50 are at higher risk, and African-American men tend to have a higher incidence. A family history of prostate cancer, as well as certain genetic mutations, are also linked to an elevated risk.”

Besides being aware of these risk factors and screening accordingly, most prostate cancer patients show no symptoms of disease. Unlike testicular or breast cancer, there is no telltale lump that the patient can sometimes feel. Some men may have trouble urinating, but this is common in men as they age and is more likely related to a non-cancerous condition.

“Unfortunately, this means that without screening, there is almost no way to detect these cancers early when they are the most treatable,” Dagrosa said. “Symptoms such as pain in the hips, back or pelvis from metastatic prostate cancer, like the kind President Biden was recently found to have, are only seen in the later stages of the disease.”

When prostate cancer is detected, a variety of treatment options are available that may be tailored to the patient. “The treatment for prostate cancer depends on the stage of the disease, the patient’s overall health, and personal preferences,” Dagrosa said.

Today, May 20, is international Clinical Trials Day. Dartmouth Cancer Center is currently running six trials for the treatment of prostate cancer at sites in New Hampshire and Vermont. Learn more about prostate cancer by visiting the webpage for Dartmouth Cancer Center’s Genitourinary Oncology Program.