Pope does not need further treatment after lung cancer surgery
Test results have confirmed his diagnosis as a lung adenocarcinoma that was localised.
Pope Leo XIV will not require any additional treatment after surgery to remove a cancerous growth from his lung, his doctors have said.
According to a Vatican statement, tests on tissue taken during the operation confirmed the initial diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma and showed that the disease was localised.
“A subsequent oncological assessment has confirmed that no further treatment is necessary,” the statement added.
The 71-year-old left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital over the weekend, four days after the operation, and paused to speak with well-wishers as he departed the grounds.
The news came as he held his first weekly general audience since leaving hospital, in St Peter’s Square on Wednesday.
The 90-minute surgery, carried out on 13 October, involved removing the lower lobe of the Pope’s right lung.
The pontiff had announced during his weekly Sunday prayers that he would undergo the procedure, telling those in St Peter’s Square that doctors had discovered a nodule on his lung.
At the time, he said it had been detected “at an early stage”.
On the same day, the Vatican said he had spoken by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin to press for a ceasefire in the blockaded Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky so food aid could be delivered, and to call for “dialogue and peace”.
The pontiff also had a similar phone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday.
People close to the Pope have also previously said he was determined not to postpone a trip to Latin America planned for early November.