SKIN LESION REMOVED FROM BIDEN CANCEROUS

President Joe Biden had one cancerous skin lesion removed from his chest on Feb. 16, his longtime doctor Kevin C. O’Connor said in a letter Friday. O’Connor said that all cancerous tissue was successfully removed, and no further treatment is needed.

A biopsy confirmed that the small lesion was basal cell carcinoma, O’Connor said. The biopsy was performed on the same day as Biden’s annual physical.

Basal cell carcinoma, O’Connor explained, does not tend to spread or metastasize, as more serious skin cancers, like melanoma, do. This type of carcinoma is the most common form of cancer diagnosed in the United States.

Per O’Connor, the area of the biopsy has healed nicely and Biden, 80, will continue to undergo dermatologic monitoring as part of his ongoing health care.

O’Connor noted at the time of Biden’s physical that he had several non-melanoma skin cancers removed before assuming the presidency.

After Biden’s physical exam in February, O’Connor said in a memo that the president remains “a healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male who is fit to successfully execute duties of the presidency.”

At the time, O’Connor said the most notable update from Biden’s last physical in November 2021 was his coronavirus infection over the summer, but he said the president has not experienced any lingering symptoms that could be characterized as “long COVID,” and noted that one “small lesion” on the president’s chest had been removed.

O’Connor noted in the February letter that Biden had spent a “good deal of time” in the sun when he was young.

Basal cell carcinomas most often occur as a result of sun damage or UV damage. They are more common in fair-skinned people who have less skin pigmentation, according to Mathew Avram, director of the Dermatology Laser and Cosmetic Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.