Jodie Foster python cancer-free after UK zoo treatment

A 4.5-metre reticulated python named Jodie Foster has recovered from jaw cancer after surgery and electrochemotherapy at Chester Zoo in northwest England, the zoo said.

The zoo said the 23-year-old snake, which has lived there for two decades, first had surgery after tests found a malignant tumour in her jaw. When the tumour returned, vets carried out another operation and used electrochemotherapy to target remaining cancerous cells.

Chester Zoo's veterinary team, working with University of Liverpool cancer specialists, said they believe it was the first time the treatment had been used in a snake.

Electrochemotherapy combines the cancer drug bleomycin with electrical pulses at the tumour site, temporarily making cancer cells more permeable so the drug can enter more effectively.

Chester Zoo vet Ian Ashpole said the snake had been eating less and becoming inactive before the tumour was found. He said the operation included removing part of her jawbone and that two operating tables had to be put together because of her size.

After a check-up this week, the zoo said Jodie Foster is cancer-free, eating normally and back to her usual behaviour. University of Liverpool specialist Jose Alvarez Picornell said the team plans to publish details of the procedure so other veterinary specialists can learn from it.