Joe Biden had cancerous skin lesion successfully removed last month, says his doctor

US President Joe Biden, 80, had a cancerous skin lesion successfully removed from his chest in February, his doctor disclosed on Friday.

The tissue was excised during a procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on Feb. 16 and sent for a traditional biopsy, Dr. Kevin O’Connor wrote in a letter released by the White House on Friday.

He added that “no further treatment is required” and the President was fit for duty.

“The site of the biopsy has healed nicely and the president will continue dermatologic surveillance as part of his ongoing comprehensive healthcare,” O’Connor said in his report.

He observed that basal cell carcinoma were generally more innocuous than “more serious skin cancers such as melanoma or squamous cell carcinoma.”

“President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency,” O’Connor said in February after Biden’s medical examination.

The check-up was the final one before Biden’s expected declaration that  he is running for re-election in 2024. He has been criticised by his rivals over his age and the state of his health.