VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV will not require further treatment for lung cancer after tests confirmed the disease was “localized,” Vatican officials said on Wednesday.

The pontiff, 71, underwent a 90-minute procedure on Oct. 13 as doctors removed a lower lobe of his right lung.

Leo XIV’s doctors, Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora, said a subsequent oncological assessment confirmed that “no further treatment is necessary.”

“The final histopathology and molecular testing reports on the tissue removed during the Holy Father’s surgery were issued today,” the doctors said in a statement released by the Holy See Press Office. “The results confirmed that the tumor was a lung adenocarcinoma and that the disease was localized. A subsequent oncological assessment has confirmed that no further treatment is necessary.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, lung adenocarcinoma is a common form of lung cancer. Survival rates for it vary depending on the stage of the cancer and a patient’s overall health.

The surgery was the first medical issue for Leo XIV, the first pontiff from North America who was elected by the College of Cardinals last year to succeed the late Pope Francis I, The New York Times reported.

He revealed his medical condition during his weekly blessing from St. Peter’s Square two days before his surgery, according to the newspaper.

In an interview with Vatican News on Saturday, Margaritora, the chief thoracic surgeon at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, confirmed that the nodule was found during routine abdominal examinations, The Associated Press reported.

The surgeon added that Leo XIV had not been experiencing any symptoms.

“The statements suggest that this is a stage I lung cancer for which surgery is highly effective and expected to be curative,” Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, told the news organization.

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