Biden's biopsy confirmed basal cell carcinoma, cancerous tissue removed - White House

White House physician Kevin O'Connor said that basal cell carcinoma lesions do not tend to spread or metastasize.

 US President Joe Biden addresses the White House Tribal Nations Summit at the Interior Department in Washington, US, November 30, 2022.  (photo credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)
US President Joe Biden addresses the White House Tribal Nations Summit at the Interior Department in Washington, US, November 30, 2022.
(photo credit: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/REUTERS)

US President Joe Biden's February biopsy confirmed that a skin lesion removed from his chest was a basal cell carcinoma and all cancerous tissue was successfully removed, White House physician Kevin O'Connor said on Friday.

Biden will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing healthcare but the site of the biopsy has healed and no further treatment is needed, the White House physician added.

Last month, doctors declared Biden, 80, healthy and "fit for duty" after a physical examination.

O'Connor said in a letter released by the White House that basal cell carcinoma lesions do not tend to spread or metastasize.

US President Joe Biden walks after getting off Marine One to board Air Force One, after surveying storm-damaged areas of California's central coast, in Moffett Federal Airfield, Santa Clara County, California, US, January 19, 2023.  (credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS)
US President Joe Biden walks after getting off Marine One to board Air Force One, after surveying storm-damaged areas of California's central coast, in Moffett Federal Airfield, Santa Clara County, California, US, January 19, 2023. (credit: LEAH MILLIS/REUTERS)

White House physician says no additional treatment needed

“No further treatment is required.”

White House physician Kevin O'Connor

The site of the biopsy has healed nicely, he said.

"No further treatment is required," O'Connor said

Concern

Biden's health is under close scrutiny as he prepares for an expected run for a second presidential term in 2024. His wife Jill Biden has said he plans to run, although a formal declaration of the president's intentions has yet to be made.

Whether Biden - already the oldest American president ever - should be the party's candidate is a source of debate among Democrats.

Biden's three-hour session with doctors in February at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland, was his second extensive exam since taking office in January 2021.