NATIONAL BRIEFING / WASHINGTON, D.C.

Army Gen. David H. Petraeus was diagnosed with prostate cancer in February but has been successfully treated for the disease.

Petraeus, 56, head of the U.S. Central Command, oversees operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The general’s spokesman, Col. Erik O. Gunhus, released a statement in response to questions from the New York Times.

Petraeus received radiation treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for two months, the statement said, adding that it “is assessed to have been successful.”

He did not disclose the diagnosis earlier because he considered it a private matter, and because neither the disease nor its treatment interfered with his duties, the statement said.