Pope Leo XIV needs no further treatment after lung cancer surgery, Vatican doctors say

Pope Leo XIV needs no further cancer treatment after surgery on his right lung, his doctors said in a statement released by the Vatican today, Oct. 21.

Dr. Luigi Carbone, the pope's personal physician, and Dr. Stefano Margaritora, his surgeon, said final histopathology and molecular testing on the removed tissue "were issued today." The results confirmed a lung adenocarcinoma and showed the disease was localized.

"A subsequent oncological assessment has confirmed that no further treatment is necessary," the doctors said.

What the tests found

Surgeons removed the lower lobe of the pope's right lung on Oct. 13 at Rome's Gemelli Hospital. The operation lasted about 90 minutes, according to the Vatican. The Holy See press office said at the time that there were no complications.

Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of lung cancer. The final pathology matched the initial diagnosis.

Additional treatment is typically offered after surgery when follow-up testing shows the cancer has spread, including to lymph nodes, or carries signs of being particularly aggressive. The doctors' statement says neither applied here.

Found by accident

Margaritora, chief thoracic surgeon at Gemelli, told Vatican News that the tumor was found "entirely by chance." A small spot was spotted at the base of the lung during routine abdominal examinations, he said. The pope had no symptoms.

Margaritora added that the finding would likely have been missed if the spot had sat a little higher in the lung. "The Holy Father falls into the category of people who discover they have lung cancer entirely by chance," he said, "not because they are undergoing preventive screening, but because they undergo examinations for other reasons."

Leo disclosed the nodule himself on Oct. 11 during his Sunday Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square. He told the crowd it had been caught "at an early stage."

Recovery timeline

The pope left Gemelli on Saturday, Oct. 17, four days after surgery. The Vatican had initially anticipated a stay of about a week. Crowds outside the hospital shouted "Papa!" as he left. Before leaving, he visited the children's oncology ward.

He worked from the hospital. On Friday, Oct. 16, the Vatican said, he spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin and urged a ceasefire in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Oleshky so food aid could get in. He had a similar call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, Oct. 19.

On Sunday he gave the Angelus. "Now that I have overcome this delicate phase, as you know, I will gradually resume my activities, always with God's help and your prayers," he said. Today he held his first weekly general audience since the operation, waving from the popemobile to the crowd in St. Peter's Square.

It is the first major health event of Leo's 17-month pontificate. He is 71. He became the first U.S.-born leader of the Roman Catholic Church in May 2025.

The Latin America trip

The next big engagement is a Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru. By the Associated Press's description, it includes a dozen flights, two helicopter rides and high-altitude stops. The Vatican has said the pope is expected to make it.

Margaritora told Vatican News there is "no clinical reason" to stop him. People close to the pope have said he did not want to delay the trip.

Not everyone treats it as settled. The Vatican's secretary of state indicated the pope may need to adjust the pace of his schedule to aid recovery, and The Guardian reported that it remains unclear whether the full itinerary will go ahead as planned. The Vatican has not announced any change to the program.

The operation is done, and the doctors say the cancer is gone from the picture as far as treatment goes. What remains open is how much of a punishing 12-day schedule a man more than three weeks out from lung surgery will carry. The Vatican has yet to say whether the itinerary will be trimmed before the pope boards his first flight on Nov. 6.