Pope Leo Diagnosed With Lung Cancer After Surgery, Vatican Says

• Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer, according to the Vatican.
• The diagnosis followed a successful surgery on October 13, in which the doctors removed the lower lobe of the Pope’s right lung.
• The Vatican says the Pope had a calm first night and is expected to spend a week in the hospital while exams are conducted on the removed tissue.
• At this time, there have been no updates as to whether Pope Leo will require any further treatment.

Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer following a successful surgery, the Vatican said.

The Pope, 71, underwent surgery at Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic in Rome on October 13 to remove a nodule from his right lung. This was determined to be pulmonary adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer.

The surgeons removed the lower lobe of the Pope’s lung to “ensure a radical procedure; the lower lobe of the right lung was removed using a video-assisted technique,” said Dr. Luigi Carbone, the Director of Vatican Healthcare Services, and Professor Stephano Margaritora, the lead surgeon, in a press release.

“An intraoperative histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, as suspected from the preoperative examinations,” they said.

Pope Leo was in the operating room for 3 hours, while the operation itself lasted around 90 minutes.

The doctors noted that it was a successful operation with no complications.

According to Matteo Bruni, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, the Pope asked for dinner after the surgery and spent the evening with his secretaries and other Vatican staff.

Adenocarcinoma is the most common subtype of lung cancer globally. It accounts for around 40% of all lung cancer diagnoses.

Lung adenocarcinoma begins in the epithelial cells that produce mucus. It is the most common type of NSCLC.

Treatment for NSCLC is generally determined by the stage. However, it typically involves one or a combination of:

Surgery is generally the first step in treatment for this type of lung cancer. The right lung has three lobes, or sections, and the left has two.

A doctor will often remove the entire lobe that has the tumor in order to remove the tumor and improve the outlook.

The body eventually adapts in order to compensate for the loss of function.