Follow-up: Pope Leo XIV's Doctors Say Final Pathology Shows Cancer Stayed Localized, No Further Treatment Needed
ROME — Pope Leo XIV will not need any further therapy after undergoing lung cancer surgery last week, his doctors said on Wednesday, indicating that his tumor had not spread, Reuters reported on October 21.
In a statement released by the Vatican, the pope's lead surgeon, Stefano Margaritora, and his personal physician, Luigi Carbone, said final histological examinations and molecular biology analyses of the tissue removed confirmed the diagnosis, with the disease remaining localized. "A subsequent oncological evaluation has confirmed that no further therapy is required," the doctors said.
The 71-year-old pontiff had the lower lobe of his right lung removed in surgery at Rome's Agostino Gemelli University Policlinic on October 13 and was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer. He was discharged from hospital on Saturday and is gradually resuming his normal duties. On Wednesday, he returned to St. Peter's Square for his weekly general audience with pilgrims, his first since the surgery. Until now, his doctors had not disclosed the size of the tumor or whether the disease had spread to nearby lymph nodes, key factors in determining prognosis that the final pathology results have now answered.
The announcement came as it was still unclear whether the US-born pope would proceed with a planned trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, scheduled for November 6-17. Margaritora said last week there were "no clinical reasons" preventing the pope from travelling to South America, but the Vatican's secretary of state has indicated the pontiff may need to adjust the pace of his schedule to aid his recovery.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 教宗良十四世乘教宗座车向信众致意（资料图，2026年6月访问西班牙Madrid时摄）。摄影：Aike 1942，CC0公共领域授权（Wikimedia Commons）。File photo: Pope Leo XIV greeting crowds from the popemobile during his June 2026 visit to Madrid, Spain. Photo by Aike 1942, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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