Prostate Cancer Screening After Biden’s Diagnosis: What Urologists Are Seeing in Practice

The May 19, 2025, announcement of former President Joe Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis placed renewed attention on screening, detection, and treatment of a disease that remains a leading cause of cancer-related death among US men. In the days and weeks that followed, urologists across the country began to notice subtle but meaningful changes in patient behavior and clinical conversations.

To better understand this shift, Urology Times surveyed urologists and advanced practice providers about the real-world impact of the news. Responses suggest an increase in patient questions about PSA testing, heightened anxiety among older men, and growing interest in baseline or continued screening later in life. At the same time, the findings raise important questions about patient understanding of modern diagnostic pathways and the ongoing controversy surrounding prostate cancer screening guidelines.

Together, these insights highlight how a high-profile diagnosis can influence awareness and decision-making in clinical practice. Read the full analysis to explore what providers are seeing, what patients are asking, and how this moment may shape future conversations around prostate cancer care.

How to engage with the survey:

• Open the survey by clicking the image or link above. It will open the interactive publication in a new browser window.

• Arrows on both sides of the screen allow you to navigate from page to page.

• There are buttons on the bottom-right of your screen to display thumbnails of all the pages beneath the viewer, or to zoom in/out, or make full screen.

• When you come across video content, you can click to watch within the publication.

• For now, the survey link performs better for desktop/laptop viewing. You can view on mobile, but some interactive experiences may not be available.

• Questions? Problems? Feedback? Please reach out to Assistant Managing Editor Ben Saylor.

What's in the survey:

• Developed by Urology Times Co–Editor in Chief Michael S. Cookson, MD, MMHC, FACS, the survey polled urologists for their perceptions related to former President Joe Biden's diagnosis of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer

• In the article accompanying the results, Cookson provides insights on the survey data.

• Also included is an exclusive video with Cookson in which he discusses data from a forthcoming study indicating that prostate cancer–related searches climbed sharply and stayed elevated after former President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis.