AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "News Hour."

We begin tonight with a closer look at the announcement that former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.

Yesterday, a spokesperson for the 82-year-old said the cancer had spread to his bones.

Today, Mr. Biden posted on social media, saying -- quote -- "Cancer touches us all.

Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places.

Thank you for lifting us up with love and support."

GEOFF BENNETT: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the U.S. For more insight, I spoke earlier today with Dr. Jay Raman, chair of the Department of Urology at Penn State Health.

Dr. Raman, welcome back to the "News Hour."

DR. JAY RAMAN, Penn State Health: Thank you.

Glad to be here.

GEOFF BENNETT: That Biden's form of cancer is described as aggressive and having spread to the bone, what does that mean for an 82-year-old?

DR. JAY RAMAN: Well, there are different types of prostate cancer.

I often think about it as being sort of a heterogeneous or a mixed bag.

Some are slow-growing and some are more aggressive and fast-growing.

And those are the kind that have the potential to not only grow within the prostate, but spread to the lymph nodes, liver, and, in this case, for example, the bone.

One of the great things about prostate cancer is that it's one of the most treatable cancers, even in this diagnosis, a stage 4 cancer.

And so even, for an 82-year-old, there are plenty of treatment options.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, tell us more about those treatment options, including hormonal treatments, because the statement that President Biden's office released yesterday said that his cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management.

DR. JAY RAMAN: Well, prostate cancer is a hormone-sensitive cancer.

What that means is, is that the food supply for prostate cancer is testosterone and male androgens.

So when we talk about hormone suppression as being a treatment, that basically means lowering the testosterone and androgen levels in the body, and that, in and of itself, will start to starve some of the prostate cancer cells and treat these sites of metastasis.

And one of the great things that's happened over the last 10 to 15 years is really an explosion in the ability to have different combinations of drugs and therapies, all of which target this hormonal axis.

GEOFF BENNETT: There's also the question of why this disease was detected so late, especially in someone who, like former President Biden, has access to state-of-the-art care.

He was receiving annual physicals.

What questions does this raise for you?

DR. JAY RAMAN: Well, I think I would tell you, to be perfectly honest, if we look at national screening guidelines, for example, from the American Urological Association, screening guidelines really recommend screening between the ages of 45 to 50 all the way up to about 70 years of age.

And, certainly, when you get to men who are over in their upper 70s and even 80 years of age, routine screening is really not recommended.

It's very possible that these men may die of some other cause other than prostate cancer.

So, although President Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive type of prostate cancer, I wouldn't necessarily say it was due to lack of screening.

It was perhaps purposeful, given his age and potentially life expectancy.

GEOFF BENNETT: Back in 2014, as you all know, routine annual PSA testing was scaled back, and that meant that fewer people are now getting screened.

Was that a smart move?

And what should men be doing now to make sure that they're getting properly screened?

DR. JAY RAMAN: Well, I think, when prostate cancer is diagnosed early, it is one of the most treatable and most curable cancers.

And so I think it's very important that men be very proactive about their care.

One of the easiest ways to screen for prostate cancer is a blood test called PSA.

And, in general, we recommend that men have their initial PSA test between 45 and 50 years of age and then be checked every two to four years.

The reality is, is that, when we identify prostate cancer through Psaki-based screening at an early stage, it's highly treatable.

And if we don't, we may run into scenarios where the disease has progressed or even spread at the time of diagnosis.

GEOFF BENNETT: What makes someone high-risk for prostate cancer and what can people do to better detect and prevent it?

DR. JAY RAMAN: Well, I think that there are certain groups of persons or certain risk factors that place patients at higher risk.

Certainly, Black men or men of African ancestry have an increased risk, those with a genetic or hereditary gene mutation, those with a family history like a father or brother, as well as certain unique populations such as the Ashkenazi Jewish population.

And in those persons, while I talked about screening between the ages of 45 to 50, we actually recommend that these groups perhaps have their first Psaki-based test between 40 and 45 years of age to detect the potential in these high-risk populations.

GEOFF BENNETT: Dr. Jay Raman, chair of the Department of Urology at Penn State Health, thanks for being with us.

DR. JAY RAMAN: Thanks so much.