Surgery to remove portion of right lung completed without complications
The Vatican announced Tuesday that Pope Leo XIV has been diagnosed with lung cancer following surgery to remove a portion of his right lung. The Holy See press office said doctors diagnosed the 71-year-old American pontiff with lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of the disease.
The procedure to remove part of Leo’s lung lasted about 90 minutes and was completed without complications, the Vatican said. Doctors described the operation as successful. The diagnosis had been suspected before the surgery, according to the pope’s physicians.
Adenocarcinoma is a type of non-small cell lung cancer, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said is the most prevalent form of lung cancer. Non-small cell lung cancers typically grow more slowly and often do not cause symptoms until they are advanced, the CDC said.
The surgery took place at a hospital in Rome where popes have been treated for various ailments over the decades.
Leo had publicly disclosed the health concern days before the operation. At his weekly blessing on Sunday, the pope said doctors had recently found a small, localized nodule in his lung. He said the nodule was detected at “a very early stage” and that his doctors had recommended surgery to remove it.
“I thank you for your spiritual closeness and entrust myself to your prayers,” he said at the time.