Pope undergoes partial lung removal, cancer diagnosis confirmed

Pope Leo XIV underwent a scheduled chest surgery and was subsequently diagnosed with lung cancer, Reuters reported Tuesday (local time), citing a Vatican announcement.

According to the reports and the Vatican statement, the pope spent three hours in the operating room that afternoon at Agostino Gemelli University Hospital in Rome, with the surgery itself lasting about 90 minutes.

The Vatican added that the pope woke up normally after the procedure.

Professor Stefano Margaritora and the surgical team said in a post-operative statement that they had performed a thoracoscopic resection of the lower lobe of the right lung with curative intent. They added that a biopsy conducted during the operation confirmed a diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma, which had been anticipated based on pre-surgical examinations.

"The surgery was successful and there were no complications," the medical team said.

Lung adenocarcinoma is a form of lung cancer that originates in cells responsible for secreting fluids. It accounts for roughly 40 percent of all lung cancer cases and is the most common type found in non-smokers.

Medical experts say that assessing the pope's prognosis will require knowing the size of the removed tumor and whether the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes — details the Vatican has not yet disclosed.

Steven Liu, a hematologist-oncologist at Georgetown University Hospital, told Reuters that while a diagnosis had been made, the stage of the cancer remained unknown. "If the tumor is small and has not spread to the lymph nodes, surgery alone could be curative," he said. "But if the final analysis shows the cancer has spread more widely, that would suggest a poorer prognosis."

Earlier, the Vatican said all scheduled official audiences with the pope had been canceled through Oct. 20.

Leo XIV, who is 71, is considered to have become pope at a relatively young age compared to his predecessors. He enjoys sports including tennis and has no significant prior medical history.

Gemelli Hospital is a nonprofit Catholic teaching hospital that maintains a special papal suite and chapel on its 10th floor. The facility has earned the nickname "the Third Vatican" due to the extended time Pope John Paul II spent there during his pontificate.