Pope Leo XIV needs no further treatment after lung cancer surgery
The Vatican said on Wednesday that Pope Leo XIV, 71, needs no further treatment after lung cancer surgery, as follow-up tests showed the disease was localised. The pontiff has resumed public duties and is planning a November trip to South America.
Pope Leo XIV, the 71-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church, will not need any further treatment for lung cancer, the Vatican announced on Wednesday. Follow-up tests confirmed the disease was localised and had not spread.
Last week, surgeons at Rome's Gemelli Polyclinic removed the lower lobe of the pope's right lung. It was the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. The operation confirmed adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. He left hospital on Saturday, four days after surgery, and said he would gradually resume his activities.
The pope's personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and his surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, said a subsequent oncology assessment concluded that no additional treatment was necessary. Such treatment is typically offered when follow-up testing shows signs of spread, for example to the lymph nodes, or other indications that a tumour may be particularly aggressive.
Found by chance
Margaritora, chief thoracic surgeon at Gemelli, told Vatican News that the nodule was discovered by chance during routine abdominal examinations and that the pope had no symptoms. Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, said the statements point to stage I lung cancer, for which surgery is highly effective and expected to be curative. He added that the absence of further treatment suggests a relatively small tumour that had not reached the lymph nodes.
Back to work
While in hospital the pope kept working, including a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since the operation he has made two public appearances at the Vatican: the traditional Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square, and a longer audience in the square on Wednesday. During the audience he thanked the faithful for the support of their prayers.
His next major engagement is a trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from Nov. 6 to 17. Margaritora said there was no clinical reason to prevent it. The journey includes about a dozen flights, two helicopter rides and stops at high altitude.
The pope had announced the planned removal of the nodule himself during the Sunday blessing on Oct. 11, in a disclosure broadcast live on television that departed from the tradition of secrecy around papal health.
