Surgery confirms pope has lung cancer and he had the lower lobe of his right lung removed

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV underwent surgery today that confirmed that he has lung cancer, and doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung.

The tests confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin after the surgery. It said the diagnosis had been suspected by preoperative tests and was confirmed during surgery.

The statement made no mention of treatment going forward, and the Vatican said doctors were not currently speaking of chemotherapy or other therapies.

The Vatican press office noted the medical statement spoke of the “radical” removal of the lobe as an indication that doctors removed all suspect tissue in hopes of removing any lingering traces of the cancer.

The 71-year-old was in the operating room for about three hours, the statement said. The surgery itself lasted approximately 90 minutes.

“The surgery was successful, and there were no complications,” the statement said.

Leo had walked into Rome’s Gemelli hospital through the main entrance earlier in the day and waved to dozens of well-wishers who had gathered to greet him.

The Vatican said the surgery would be performed by a team led by Gemelli’s chief thoracic surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora.

The American pontiff has offered a rare level of transparency about the first publicly disclosed major health problem of his 17-month papacy.

He revealed the discovery of the small, localized nodule during his Sunday noon prayer and announced that he would have it removed.

Oncologists said prior to the operation that even if the nodule turned out to be cancerous, Leo’s prognosis is “excellent” since it will have been removed at an early stage.

There was no word on whether Leo would be able to keep his planned trip to South America next month.

Oncologists often advise patients not to fly for three weeks after surgery — which would give the pope just the interval needed to make his planned Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, depending on his recovery.