Former AC Milan captain Franco Baresi died on July 31, 2026, aged 66, after a prolonged struggle with a serious lung illness. His health issues became public in August 2025, when Milan announced that a pulmonary nodule had been removed after routine medical checks. The club called the procedure minimally invasive, said he had recovered smoothly and recommended immunotherapy as a consolidation treatment.
Baresi’s death was announced by his former club, CNN reported in its 2026 review. His standing in football extended well beyond Milan: he captained the club and was part of Italy’s 1982 World Cup-winning team. Coverage of his career also credits him with six Italian league titles and three European Cup victories.
The club’s announcement did not explicitly name cancer, but immunotherapy is used in treatment plans for several forms and stages of lung cancer. Massimo Di Maio, president of the Associazione Italiana di Oncologia Medica (Aiom), has described how its role has expanded. Once used mainly for advanced or metastatic disease, immunotherapy now also features in treatment pathways for locally advanced disease and, in some early-stage cases, around surgery to reduce the risk of recurrence.
Lung-cancer prognosis is closely tied to the stage at diagnosis. Symptoms can be vague, including a persistent cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, hoarseness, unexplained weight loss or recurring respiratory infections. They can be hard to distinguish from other conditions, and the disease may cause few noticeable symptoms in its early stages.
Smoking remains a major risk factor, though lung cancer also affects people who have never smoked. The disease’s varied subtypes and aggressiveness mean treatment depends on factors such as stage and the individual tumour. Targeted therapies and immunotherapy have improved outcomes for some patients, sometimes extending survival and, in certain cases, making long-term remission possible.
Low-dose chest computed tomography, sometimes called spiral CT, can help detect lung cancer earlier, particularly among people at higher risk, including current and former heavy smokers. Screening strategies focus on those most likely to benefit, so follow-up and treatment can begin sooner.
Italy’s broader cancer burden offers further context: reporting by Il Foglio, citing Adnkronos, put the estimated number of new cancer cases in the country at about 390,000 in 2025. That figure covers all cancers, not lung cancer alone. The same coverage reported a 22.5% decline in lung-cancer mortality among men in a cited European analysis. Il Sole 24 Ore also reported the decline and discussed access to new medicines in Italy, including a reported 15-month wait for some new therapies.
Franco Baresi’s death comes shortly after the passing of another prominent figure, Manolo Solo, who also died of cancer, as reported in coverage of his final days. Their deaths have drawn renewed attention to cancer’s impact on public figures and the wider population, as well as to early diagnosis and access to treatment.
Lung cancer remains a major health concern in Italy and across Europe. Improving outcomes depends on earlier detection and effective screening for people at elevated risk, backed by public awareness and continued therapeutic new idea.
