Pope Leo had peaceful night in hospital after lung cancer surgery

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo spent a peaceful night in hospital after undergoing surgery for lung cancer, the Vatican said on Wednesday, adding that further information about his condition would be released later in the day.

The pope was diagnosed on Tuesday with lung adenocarcinoma, the most common form of lung cancer, after doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung during an operation.

The 71-year-old pontiff had been admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital after doctors discovered a growth during a recent routine health check.

The operation lasted about 90 minutes and was completed without complications, the pope’s lead surgeon, Stefano Margaritora, and his personal physician, Luigi Carbone, said late on Tuesday.

The doctors said in a joint statement that the entire lower lobe of the right lung was removed in an effort to eliminate all cancerous tissue. Human lungs have five lobes — three in the right lung and two in the left.

The Vatican has not disclosed the size of the tumour or whether the disease had spread to nearby lymph nodes, key factors in determining prognosis.

The Vatican said earlier this week that the pope was expected to remain in hospital for about a week and that all his public engagements had been cancelled until October 20.

Elected by the world’s cardinals in May 2025, Leo is relatively young for a Church leader. He enjoys sports, including tennis, and is not known to be a smoker or to have had recent health issues.

Messages of sympathy

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he and his wife Jeanette were praying for the pope, an American who was born in Chicago.

“May the Lord give him strength and the Holy Spirit guide the medical professionals taking care of the Holy Father,” he said on X.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose role is largely ceremonial, wished Leo a speedy and full recovery, German Catholic news agency KNA reported.

“The pope’s voice on the current issues and challenges of our time is of particular importance and of value to many people worldwide, including in Germany, beyond denominational boundaries,” Steinmeier was quoted as saying.

South American trip scheduled

Leo normally follows a very busy schedule. He is due to make an 11-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17, but it was not clear if this trip would still go ahead.

The pope is the ultimate earthly authority for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics and does not have a deputy who steps in when he is sick. When a pope is incapacitated, the business of the Vatican’s vast bureaucracy carries on as usual, holding off on any decisions that require papal approval.

A Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday was led by Filipino Cardinal Luis Tagle in place of Leo. The pope last week approved Tagle as the dean of the Church’s College of Cardinals, in the first selection of an Asian cleric to the elite role.

What is lung adenocarcinoma?

Pope Leo was diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma after doctors removed the lower lobe of his right lung during surgery on Tuesday, the Vatican said.

Here are some facts about the disease.

What is it?

Adenocarcinoma is a type of cancer that forms in glandular cells, which produce substances such as mucus. In the lungs, it develops in cells lining the air sacs and is the most common subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the category that accounts for about 80 per cent-85 per cent of lung cancers. Adenocarcinoma represents roughly 40 per cent of all lung cancer cases, according to the Lung Cancer Foundation of America.

It is typically found in the outer parts of the lungs and tends to grow more slowly than some other forms of lung cancer, increasing the chances of detection before it has spread.

Who gets it?

Smoking remains the main risk factor. However, adenocarcinoma is also the most common type of lung cancer among people who have never smoked. The pope is not known to have been a smoker.

Symptoms

Early-stage disease often causes no symptoms and may be discovered during scans performed for other reasons. As the cancer progresses, symptoms can include a persistent cough, shortness of breath or wheezing, coughing up blood, chest, shoulder or back pain, unexplained weight loss and fatigue.

The Vatican has said the tumour was found during a routine health check. Leo said on Sunday that the growth was “well-contained” and had been spotted early.

How is it treated?

For patients whose cancer is confined to the lung, surgery offers the best chance of a cure.

The standard operation is a lobectomy, as occurred on Tuesday, in which an entire lobe of the lung is removed. Doctors consider it the preferred treatment when the tumour is limited to a single lobe because it maximises the chances of removing all cancerous tissue while preserving as much lung function as possible.

Depending on the stage of the disease, treatment can also include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted drugs and immunotherapy. The Vatican has not given any information yet on what follow-up treatment the pope might need.

Prognosis

Doctors say prognosis depends heavily on the stage of the cancer and whether it has spread beyond the lung.

The Vatican has not disclosed the size of the tumour or whether lymph nodes were affected, making it impossible to assess Leo’s individual prognosis at this stage.

According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year relative survival rate for non-small cell lung cancer is 67 per cent when the disease remains confined to the lung. The rate falls to about 40% when the disease has spread to nearby tissues or lymph nodes and to about 12% when it has spread to distant organs.

However, it says people being diagnosed now may have a better outlook than these statistics suggest because of improving treatments. Medical experts also caution that outcomes vary widely depending on tumour size, lymph node involvement, a patient’s age and overall health.

Sources

This factbox drew on information posted online by the Lung Cancer Foundation of America, the National Library of Medicine and the American Cancer Society.