Pope Leo Needs No Further Lung Cancer Treatment, Vatican Says

Follow-up tests have confirmed that Pope Leo’s lung cancer had not spread, and the Vatican said he does not need further treatment.

The update followed surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung last week.

The Vatican said the tests confirmed that the disease was localised.

The operation was the first major health event of Leo’s 17-month pontificate.

Final tests confirm the diagnosis

The surgery confirmed that Leo had adenocarcinoma, described in the source as the most common type of lung cancer.

His personal doctor, Luigi Carbone, and surgeon, Stefano Margaritora, said the final post-operative tests confirmed the initial diagnosis.

The tests were conducted on tissue removed during the surgery.

In their statement, Carbone and Margaritora said the cancer had not spread.

That finding is consistent with the Vatican’s description of the disease as localised and its statement that no further treatment is needed.

Pope left hospital after four days

Leo left the hospital on Saturday, four days after the surgery.

His discharge came well ahead of the week-long hospital stay that the Vatican had initially anticipated.

The Vatican’s latest statement provides the follow-up assessment after the procedure and clarifies that the disease remained confined, according to the test results cited by the Vatican and the doctors.