Lesion removed from Biden’s chest was a common form of skin cancer, doctor says

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks at the Homeland Security Department’s 20th Anniversary ceremony at the Homeland Security Department in Washington, U.S., March 1, 2023. (Leah Millis/Reuters)

CNN– President Joe Biden’s doctor said Friday that a lesion removed from the president’s chest last month was basal cell carcinoma, a common type of skin cancer.

Dr. Kevin O’Connor wrote in a letter to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre that the lesion was removed and biopsied. “As expected,” the lesion tested positive for basal cell carcinoma, O’Connor wrote.

“All cancerous tissue was successfully removed,” O’Connor wrote.

Biden will continue “dermatological surveillance” going forward, he added. Biden’s physician said “no further treatment” was required.

O’Connor said the area where the cancerous lesion was removed had “healed nicely.”

The letter also said: “Basal cell carcinoma lesions do not tend to ‘spread’ or metastasize, as some more serious skin cancers such as melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma are known to do.”

This is a breaking story and will be updated.