Fact check: Trump said biden got "stage 9" cancer.

1. Summary of the results

Trump's statement about Biden having "stage 9" cancer is factually incorrect, as there is no such thing as "stage 9" cancer ^{[1] [2]}. The confusion appears to stem from Trump conflating two different medical classification systems ^[3]:

• Biden has Stage 4 prostate cancer, which is the highest possible stage in the TNM classification system ^[3]
• He also has a Gleason score of 9, which indicates an aggressive form of prostate cancer on a scale from 2 to 10 ^[2]

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important pieces of context are missing from Trump's statement:

• The cancer was diagnosed on May 16, 2025, following the discovery of a prostate nodule during a routine physical exam ^[4]
• The cancer has metastasized to the bone and cannot be cured, only controlled ^[5]
• The typical life expectancy for patients with this diagnosis is 5-10 years ^[5]
• Treatment options will likely include:

Drugs to stop testosterone production

Potential chemotherapy or radiation ^[5]

An important medical context is that prostate cancer screening is typically not recommended for men over 70, which may explain why the cancer wasn't detected earlier. Some aggressive cancers can develop rapidly between screenings and may not always produce detectable PSA levels ^[6].

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The statement appears to be deliberately misleading in several ways:

• Both Trump and his son have mischaracterized Biden's cancer staging ^[2]
• The use of a non-existent "stage 9" terminology could be seen as an attempt to exaggerate the severity of Biden's condition, even though Stage 4 is already the most serious classification ^[3]
• The statement ignores the medical complexity of cancer staging systems, potentially exploiting public unfamiliarity with medical terminology for political effect ^{[2] [7]}

This type of misinformation could benefit political opponents by creating confusion about Biden's health status and potentially affecting public perception of his ability to serve.