Former US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia says he has good prospects for survival thanks to recent medical progress.
The 82-year-old office says that his cancer has a Gleason score of nine, or a degree group five, with metastasis to the bone.
This is what that means.
What is a Gleason score?
A Gleason score is A system for assessing the aggressiveness of prostate cancer, Which means how quickly it could spread.
The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA), however, points out that the newer ISUP figure – to which Biden’s Office was referred to as a “grade group” score – system is more accurate and easier to understand.
They are both given after analyzing a sample of the prostate of a patient and are different from the figures of cancer.
“If prostate cancer is found in a biopsy sample, the pathologist will assign it a figure, which is based on what abnormal cancer under the microscope looks like,” The website of the American Cancer Society explains.
“Higher cancer seems to be more abnormal and they will grow quickly.”
The Gleason scoring system works by identifying the two most common patterns of cells, The PCFA website says.
Those patterns get a score of one to five assigned one is non-cancer and five is the most aggressive.
“The one and two scores are rarely used more, so the lowest gleason score pattern is three,” explains the PCFA website.
The overall gleason score of a patient between one and 10 is calculated by merging two songs. (( Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia))
Those two songs are then added together to get a number between one and 10.
For example, a patient can have a monster that scores a three, while the other is a four, making his overall Gleason score a seven.
“The higher the Gleason score, the greater the chance that the cancer will grow and spread quickly,” The website of the Prostate Conditions Education Council says.
How bad is a nine gleason score?
Mr. Biden’s Gleas -Score of Nine means that his cancer is pretty aggressive.
Jeffrey Kuhlman, who was the doctor of the White House from 2000-2013, told the ABC that a nine gleason score was “the score you don’t want”.
The general Gleason scores range from two to 10, of which 10 are the most aggressive.
For context, doctors will generally say that a person has prostate cancer if his score is between six and 10.
A degree group five is considered the most aggressive and highest risk.
What is Biden’s prognosis?
His office didn’t say.
“Although this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer seems to be hormone sensitive that makes effective management possible,” said it.
And this is good news for Mr Biden’s prospects.
“We would Expect his illness“PCFA Chief Executive Anne Savage says.
“With immediate and effective treatment, he has very good prospects to survive his illness.”
Dr. Kuhlman said that the five -year survival percentage for this type of metastatic prostate cancer was only about one in three.
But Mrs. Savage pointed out that there were newer ways to treat cancers such as that of Mr Biden.
“We have recently seen the development of a whole new class of medicines that are increasingly more effective because it keeps away from the disease and extends the survival time,” she says.
In comparison with other cancers, prostate cancer has one of the highest chances of survival if it is diagnosed early, The website of the Cancer Council NSW says.
“Prostate cancer often grows slowly – even aggressive cases of prostate cancer usually grow slower than other types of cancer.”
What does ‘metastasis to the bone’ mean?
“Metastasis to the bone” means that the cancer has spread to the patient’s bone.
Cancer can spread to the bones of a patient through the bloodstream. ((The Cancer Council))
This usually means that the patient has described as “advanced or stage 4 cancer”, Says the Cancer Council.
“Cancer cells can spread from the original cancer, via the bloodstream or lymph vessels, to one of the bones in the body,” says it.
“Secondary bone cancer cannot be cured, but treatment can reduce symptoms and improve the quality of life.
“In some cases, treatment can keep secondary bone cancer under control for many years.”
Dr. Kuhlman said that there was usually a delay time between the presentation of cancer and its spread to the bones.
“It is quite surprising for me that he presented as metastatic,” he said.
“Only about 10 percent of prostate cancer presents itself as metastatic and often it is in patients who do not have good access to care.”
What is the treatment for prostate cancer?
There are a few different ways to treat prostate cancer:
- Androgenic Deputy Therapy, which blocks testosterone
- Extra hormone therapy
- chemotherapy
- radiation therapy
- Surgery – The main type is a radical prostatectomy that removes the prostate, part of the urethra and the seed vesicles
But this all depends on the degree of prostate cancer.
And recommending the type of treatment doctors will also depend on the age of the patient and overall health, says the Cancer Council.
The prostate gland is marked in orange in this diagram. ((The Cancer Council))
Mr. Biden’s office said that the former president was still rezag his treatment options and pointed out that his cancer seemed to be hormone sensitive.
Hormone therapy can be used to treat prostate cancer that has spread to the bone, says the Cancer Council.
“This treatment uses synthetic hormones to block the effect of the natural hormones of the body,” says it.
“The goal is to reduce the hormones that the cancer cells receive.
“This can help to delay the growth and distribution of the cancer.”
This type of treatment can be administered via tablets or injections.
Mrs. Savage says that Mr Biden could go with a combination of treatments, including newly developed nuclear medicinal treatments, which are still in the trial stage in Australia.
The website of the PCFA says A new treatment called PSMA therapy Uses a radioactive molecule to target and kill cancer cells.
“PSMA therapy has demonstrated promising results in prostate cancer tests and has the potential to have a large clinical impact on the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer, especially in people with aggressive forms of prostate cancer,” the website says.
“Clinical studies are underway with more research needed to fully understand the effectiveness of this therapy.”
However, the treatment has not yet been approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and is not available as a conventional treatment.
What are the symptoms of prostate cancer?
There are usually no symptoms for early stages of prostate cancer.
But here are the symptoms for advanced prostate cancer mentioned The Cancer Council website:
Advanced prostate cancer symptoms can be:
- frequent urination
- Pain while urinating
- blood in the urine or sperm
- A weak flow
- Pain in the back or pelvis
- weak legs or feet
If the cancer has spread, this can also cause pain, inexplicable weight loss and fatigue.
How is prostate cancer diagnosed?
The most common way is through a blood test.
It is called a prostate-specific antigen test, but it is more often called a PSA blood test.
A biopsy can be taken from there, where small pieces of prostate tissue are removed using a rectal ultrasound.
Digital rectal investigations (DRE) used to be part of the routine screenings, but this has not been the case in the past decade, says Mrs. Savage.
DREs are not recommended as a routine test for men who have no symptoms of prostate cancer.
A simple blood test has replaced routine digital rectal exams when screening for prostate cancer. ((David Silverman/Getty images))
When should men be tested for prostate cancer?
As soon as they reached 40, says Mrs. Savage.
This is rather than the current guidelines that say that men older than 50 have to be tested, but Mrs. Savage says that new guidelines have been drawn up and are out for public comments.
She says that men have to ask their doctors for a PSA blood test.
“Prostate cancer has no symptoms in the earliest stages,” says Mrs. Savage.
“Men cannot afford to be complacent.”
How often do men have to be tested on prostate cancer?
That depends on their age, health and family history.
But Mrs. Savage says Men with a high risk of prostate cancer must be tested once a year.
A family history of prostate, breast and ovarian cancer increases the risk of a man on prostate cancer.
Men from families with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations also run an increased risk.
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