Joe Biden's cancer was indeed diagnosed last week, his spokeswoman says, amid renewed debate over his health at the White House

Former US President Joe Biden was diagnosed with prostate cancer last week, his spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday, May 20, confirming that his last dedicated blood screening was more than ten years ago. This clarification comes as current President Donald Trump and his allies are fueling doubts about a possible cover-up of the former Democratic president's health problems.

"I am surprised that the public was not informed a long time ago" about this cancer, the Republican told reporters on Monday, stressing that it takes "a long time to get (...) to a stage 9," corresponding to prostate cancer presenting a high risk.

"Biden's last known PSA test [the measurement of this protein helps diagnose prostate cancer] was in 2014. Before Friday, President Biden had never been diagnosed with prostate cancer," his spokeswoman said in a statement.

Joe Biden's office announced Sunday that the 82-year-old former president had been diagnosed a few days earlier with an "aggressive" form of prostate cancer with "bone metastases." This cancer is a level 9 on the Gleason score, which rates the aggressiveness of prostate cancers on a scale of up to 10.

Prostate cancer—a gland located near the bladder—is the most common cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer death for them. To detect it, a blood test called a PSA test, which measures the level of a prostate-specific antigen in the blood, or a digital rectal examination can be performed. However, due to their flaws, these tests are not universally recommended.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend PSA testing for men aged 70 or older who do not have symptoms of the disease, due in part to the risk of false positives and unnecessary treatment. Joe Biden was between 71 and 72 years old in 2014, the date he reportedly had his last PSA test, according to his spokesperson. Her office did not specify whether he had since undergone other prostate-related tests.

On Tuesday, an investigative book, Original Sin , was published in the United States, revealing how the White House hid from the world the growing weaknesses of a president who had long clung to his re-election bid.