Pope has lung cancer surgery - expert cancer biology comment
14 October 2026
Professor Phil Dash is head of the School of Biological sciences and professor of cancer biology, a researcher on the mechanisms of metastasis, the process by which cancer spreads.
He commented on reports that Pope Leo XIV had been treated with surgery to remove a part of his lung, in response to a lung cancer diagnoses.
Professor Dash said:
"Lung cancer is the third most common type of cancer in the UK and the leading cause of deaths from cancer worldwide.
"The pope has been diagnosed with a type of lung cancer called lung adenocarcinoma, which is the most common form of the disease. Like many cancers, if it is diagnosed at an early stage surgery can be a very effective treatment.
"The pope has undergone a surgical procedure called a lobectomy in which one of the lobes of the lung has been removed. If his cancer is small and located entirely within this lobe then the treatment is likely to be highly effective with a good chance of being curative.
"Doctors will want to monitor him for any signs that the cancer has spread to other parts of the lung or to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes.
"In patients where surgery isn't possible, or where surgery isn't effective, there are other treatment options such as immunotherapy or targeted therapies which have significantly improved survival rates in lung cancer patients in recent years."
For interviews, contact the University of Reading Press Office on 0118 378 5757 or pressoffice@reading.ac.uk
Loading additional items please wait....
mask