What the “little knot” on bidens prostate could mean for the health of a man

Former President Joesph Biden has what a spokesman described as a “little knot” in his prostate. How concerned a patient should be of such a statement depends on the circumstances, urologists said.

In some cases, nodules are caused by inflammation, which means that the prostate feels more firm or can lead to calcification in the prostate that feels like knots. These are benign.

You can also result from a common illness in older men. These are also no risk.

But in the worst case, they can be cancer.

If a urologist feels a knot in a man's prostate, it is not always clear what to make of it, said Dr. Scott Eggener, urologist at the University of Chicago.

“There are absolutely times when it is vague and ambiguous and they do not know what it is,” he said, adding that growth like “a great bulky stone that is almost certainly cancer”.

But Dr. Eggener said he wonders why a doctor examined Mr. Biden's prostate manually. Perhaps he had a new symptom such as a urine problem or pain or an increased level of prostate -specific antigen or PSA, a blood protein whose level increases with prostate cancer.

If the test were only part of the routine screening, it would contradict the guidelines of professional organizations that argue against the prostate screening for men from Mr. Biden, unless they are unusually healthy.

This is because prostate cancer tends to grow slowly, if at all, slowly and occur very often in the age of men, said Dr. Eggener.

“At least 50 percent of men of his age have cancer in their prostate,” said Dr. Eggener. “The overwhelming majority is better not to know about it.” You can die with the slowly growing cancer, not with it. You may have no symptoms and you cannot threaten your life.

The demonstration of a man of Mr. Bidens Age is “very controversial,” said Dr. Judd Moul, urologist at Duke University.

However, he was checked, so “I think it's water under the bridge,” said Dr. Moul. “Someone carried out a digital rectal examination and found something that he considered abnormal.”

Now the problem will be how knowledge can be evaluated.

A usual method would be to carry out a PSA test. Alternatively, he could carry out a new urine test that is looking for genetic signals of cancer.

Doctors were able to examine Mr. Bidens prostate with an MRI or an ultrasound.

“Ultimately, the last step would be a biopsy,” said Dr. Moul, if you believe that this knot is prostate cancer.

And when it is cancer, Mr. Biden would be confronted with the difficult decision whether he should be treated or not, which may require surgery or radiation.

“Sometimes when we are faced with older men with prostate nodes and other health problems, it can be reasonable to monitor it,” said Dr. Moul.

Dr. Moul said, before meeting the path of further tests, he would first have a long conversation with a patient like Mr. Biden about what this could lead to. If a patient finds out that he has prostate cancer, he has to decide whether to undergo treatment, which can be difficult or with knowledge that he has cancer and that he decides not to treat him.

“I would try to make a joint decision with him before I go on further tests,” said Dr. Moul.

Mr. Biden's spokesman said he spent on Friday in a hospital in Philadelphia and subjected an additional evaluation.