Pope Leo Diagnosed With Lung Cancer After Surgery, Vatican Says
RIYADH, October 14 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) - Pope Leo was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma after surgeons removed part of his right lung on Tuesday, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin. Tissue tests during the operation confirmed the diagnosis in the 71-year-old pontiff, who had been admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital after a growth was found during a routine health check.
Lead surgeon Dr. Stefano Margaritora and the pope’s personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, said the procedure lasted about 90 minutes and was successful, with no complications.
The pope regained consciousness normally after the operation and returned to his hospital room, where he was resting, the medical bulletin said.
The Vatican did not immediately provide the cancer’s stage, the tumour’s size or whether it had spread to lymph nodes. Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer specialist at Georgetown University, told Reuters those details were essential to assessing treatment and prognosis. Surgery could be curative for a small tumour without lymph node involvement, while more extensive disease would indicate a poorer prognosis, he said.
The Vatican had said the pope was expected to remain in hospital for about a week. All his public events have been cancelled until October 20.
It remained unclear whether his planned November 6–17 tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru would proceed. Pope Leo, born Robert Prevost in Chicago in 1955, was elected in May 2025 after serving for decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru.
Source: Reuters.
