Vatican Confirms Pope Leo XIV Needs No Additional Lung Cancer Treatment

The Vatican announced that Pope Leo XIV has received encouraging news from his physicians: follow‑up examinations have confirmed that his lung cancer is localized, and no additional treatment is required.

At 71, Leo underwent removal of the lower lobe of his right lung last week, marking the first major health incident of his 17‑month papacy. The procedure revealed adenocarcinoma, the predominant form of lung cancer. He was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic on Saturday, four days post‑operation, and indicated he will progressively return to his duties.

According to a statement from the pope’s personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and his surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, final postoperative analyses of the resected tissue confirmed the original diagnosis and indicated that the malignancy had not metastasized.

The physicians added that a subsequent oncology evaluation confirmed that additional therapy is unnecessary.

The surgeon removed the lower lobe of the pope’s right lung to ensure complete excision of the tumor.

Additional treatment would be considered only if follow‑up tests detect spread to lymph nodes or indicate a particularly aggressive disease. Surgery is often sufficient when tumors are identified early, typically via imaging that reveals a small lesion before it becomes symptomatic.

The pope’s condition resulted from an incidental pulmonary nodule discovered during a separate examination.

In a Saturday interview with Vatican News, Dr. Margaritora, chief thoracic surgeon at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, said the nodule was discovered incidentally during routine abdominal scans and that the pope was asymptomatic.

Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer specialist at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, noted that the findings suggest stage I disease, which is highly treatable and likely curable with surgery alone. The absence of additional therapy indicates a small lesion that has not spread to lymph nodes.

While hospitalized, the pope conducted official business, including a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has shown robust health in two recent public appearances: a Sunday blessing broadcast from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square and a Wednesday audience in the square, where he greeted faithful worldwide.

During the audience, Leo expressed gratitude, saying, “Thank you! Thank you for the support of your prayers.”

His next major engagement is an ambitious journey from November 6 to 17 to Uruguay, Argentina, and Peru.

Margaritora told Vatican News that there is no clinical reason to bar the trip, which involves a dozen flights, two helicopter rides, and several high‑altitude stops.

The pope had disclosed that the nodule would be surgically excised during the traditional Sunday blessing on October 11, in a rare, live‑televised disclosure that broke the usual papal secrecy regarding health matters.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)

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