Vatican sources denied this Sunday that Leo XIV will undergo immunotherapy treatment following the lung surgery he underwent at the Gemelli Polyclinic. This was reported by Adnkronos, which attributes to those sources the denial of the hypotheses that emerged in recent hours regarding the therapies the Pontiff should follow.
The denial is based on the diagnosis already communicated by the Pope’s doctors, Luigi Carbone and Stefano Margaritora. According to Adnkronos, the definitive histological examinations and molecular biology tests performed on the removed tissue confirmed that the disease, a pulmonary adenocarcinoma, was localized. This was followed by an oncological assessment which, according to Vatican sources, «confirmed that no additional therapy is necessary.»
The rumors about immunotherapy spread in the days prior following the publication by GloboNews, which attributed to Gemelli sources a preventive treatment with pembrolizumab for at least three years to reduce the risk of relapse. The Vatican sources cited by Adnkronos now deny that possibility, so the medical report on the absence of complementary therapies remains in effect.
The latest medical bulletin, released on Friday, reported that the follow-up chest X-ray had confirmed the good progress of the postoperative course. Leo XIV underwent surgery last October and the physicians removed the lower lobe of his right lung, as reported by InfoVaticana after the confirmation of adenocarcinoma during the operation.
Meanwhile, following the doctors’ advice, the Pope will not attend the «Disarmed and Disarming Peace» meeting scheduled for October 27 in Assisi on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Day of Prayer for Peace convened by John Paul II. Instead, he will send a message to the participants, according to Adnkronos.
The Pontiff spoke this Sunday at the Angelus, where he expressed his concern about the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and prayed for the victims of the attack on an Orthodox church in Jordan, according to the same information from the Italian agency.