CHICAGO — Pope Leo XIV’s recent lung cancer diagnosis is raising questions about who is at risk for the disease, particularly among people who have never smoked. As Lung Cancer Awareness Month approaches in November, experts with the American College of Surgeons (ACS) are available for media interviews to discuss current screening recommendations, risk factors beyond smoking, and how early detection can save lives.
The 71-year-old pontiff underwent surgery on October 13 to remove the lower lobe of his right lung after doctors discovered a nodule that was confirmed to be lung adenocarcinoma, a common type of lung cancer.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, accounting for approximately one in five cancer deaths. Although smoking is the leading risk factor, lung cancer can also develop in people who have never smoked. Understanding personal risk and when to seek medical advice is an important part of detecting the disease early, when treatment is more likely to be successful.
Who Should Be Screened for Lung Cancer?
Lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans can detect cancer before symptoms appear, when it is often easier to treat and potentially cure. However, screening remains significantly underused among eligible Americans.
Current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines recommend annual lung cancer screening for adults ages 50 to 80 who have at least a 20-pack-year smoking history and currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. The American Cancer Society recommends screening for adults ages 50 to 80 with the same smoking history, regardless of when they quit.
A pack-year measures how much a person has smoked over time. For example, smoking one pack of cigarettes a day for 20 years, or two packs a day for 10 years, equals 20 pack-years.
“Lung cancer screening is the most powerful tool to reduce deaths from lung cancer to happen in my lifetime,” said Daniel J. Boffa, MD, MBA, FACS, chair of the ACS Commission on Cancer and a thoracic surgeon at Yale University, in a previous ACS news release. “Screening with a CT scan, which takes just a few minutes, allows cancer to be found at an earlier stage, when treatments are easier on patients and more likely to cure patients.”
What Should People Who Have Never Smoked Know About Lung Cancer Risk?
Although smoking causes most lung cancers, an estimated 10% to 20% of lung cancer cases occur in people who have never smoked.
Other risk factors include exposure to secondhand smoke, radon, asbestos, and air pollution, as well as a personal or family history of lung cancer. Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas that can accumulate inside homes, is a particularly important environmental risk factor.
Current U.S. screening recommendations do not include routine low-dose CT screening for people who have never smoked, even if they have other risk factors. However, people concerned about their risk should speak with a healthcare professional about their individual health history, environmental exposures, and whether further evaluation is appropriate.
Experts also recommend testing homes for radon, avoiding secondhand smoke and other harmful exposures when possible, and paying attention to symptoms such as a persistent cough, coughing up blood, unexplained weight loss, or ongoing chest pain.
“If a patient is concerned about lung cancer due to environmental exposure or has family members they are concerned about, they should talk to their primary care doctor and discuss these concerns,” said Luis Armando Godoy, MD, FACS, a thoracic surgeon at UC Davis Health, in a previous ACS news release.
Early Detection and Advances in Surgery Offer Hope
When lung cancer is found at an early stage, surgery can offer patients a chance for a cure. Advances in minimally invasive techniques, including video-assisted and robotic-assisted surgery, have made it possible for many patients to undergo lung cancer surgery with less postoperative pain and shorter hospital stays.
An April 2026 article in the ACS Bulletin also highlighted the importance of timely treatment, noting that longer delays between diagnosis and surgery for early-stage lung cancer have been associated with worse survival outcomes.
“The future has never looked brighter for people with lung cancer both because we are finding ways to catch it earlier and research has brought us game-changing treatments,” Dr. Boffa said in a recent ACS expert alert.
ACS experts can also discuss what happens when a suspicious lung nodule is found, how doctors determine whether surgery is appropriate, and what patients can generally expect during recovery.
Additional information is available through the ACS Lung Cancer Awareness resources for journalists.
Journalists may email pressinquiry@facs.org to schedule an interview with an ACS expert.
