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Vatican Says Pope Leo XIV’s Lung Cancer Surgery Succeeded, Recovery Proceeds As Planned

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Pope Leo XIV had thoracic surgery to remove a cancerous right-lung nodule. Histology confirmed pulmonary adenocarcinoma, i.e., lung cancer, during the operation.

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Vatican Says Pope Leo XIV’s Lung Cancer Surgery Succeeded, Recovery Proceeds As Planned
Image: نيوز رووم

Surgery and recovery

Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital to remove the lower lobe of his right lung after the Vatican confirmed he had lung cancer, and the Vatican said the operation was successful.

Dr. Luigi Carbone and Dr. Stefano Margaritora said, “Recovery is proceeding as planned,” after blood tests and a chest X-ray showed the 71-year-old pope was recovering normally.

Image from 20 Min
Image: 20 Min

The Holy See Press Office said the pope “got up and had breakfast,” and the Vatican said he spent a second peaceful night in Rome’s Gemelli hospital.

The Vatican said Tuesday’s surgery confirmed that Leo had lung adenocarcinoma, and doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung.

The Vatican press office said the expected hospital stay remained about a week from admission, while it left open whether Leo could keep his planned trip to South America next month.

Reporting for this sectionAP NewsVatican News

Messages and politics

Peru’s president suggested Pope Leo XIV’s upcoming Latin America trip may have to be changed after the lung cancer diagnosis, while the Vatican said there was no word on whether Leo would be able to keep the planned trip.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters, “I hope Pope Leo recovers soon,” after the pope’s surgery and diagnosis were announced.

Image from 20Minutos
Image: 20Minutos

The Vatican press office director Matteo Bruni said the pope’s wish was to undertake the trip to South America from November 6, and he added, “Then we’ll see,” as recovery continued.

Al-Musā’ published a letter from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune that said, “I extend to You my most sincere words of solidarity and reassurance,” and it wished the success of the surgical operation and a speedy recovery.

The Vatican said Pope Leo XIV resumed a regular diet, began walking in his room, and celebrated Mass in the hospital after the surgery to remove the cancerous mass.

Reporting for this sectionAl-Musā’

What comes next medically

On the medical side, oncologist Silvia Novello said that naming adenocarcinoma was not enough, and she said it was essential “to know if and which genetic alterations are present” to choose treatments case by case.

Novello said the expression of PD-L1 “provides information about the immune landscape of the tumor cells,” and she described genetic testing using NGS, “Next Generation Sequencing,” on the tissue sample removed during surgery.

Novello said timelines for results usually fall “within one business week,” and she said the stage is determined on the surgical specimen and by information about lymph nodes removed by the surgeon.

Dr. Stephen Liu said the next step after diagnosis was to determine “the stage,” and he said, “We now need to know how big it is, how many spots in the lung are involved.”

The DW video summary said the Vatican confirmed early-stage lung cancer after a successful 90-minute operation, while it also said doctors continued to monitor his condition and canceled public engagements for the coming week.

Reporting for this sectionCorriere della SeraAP News