Pioneering cancer treatment saves python named Jodie Foster, says UK zoo

A UK zoo on Friday hailed curing a cancer-stricken python named after Hollywood star Jodie Foster, who became the first snake to receive an innovative treatment combining surgery and electrochemotherapy (ECT).

Chester Zoo, in northwest England, said the 4.5 metre reticulated python had fully recovered after first undergoing surgery and then receiving ECT following the return of a cancerous tumor in her jawbone. Animals are increasingly being treated for cancers with drugs and therapies once only used on humans.

Other creatures -- including a turtle and lizard -- have had ECT treatment previously, according to case reports posted on medical science databases. But Chester Zoo's veterinary team, who worked alongside University of Liverpool cancer specialists to adapt the pioneering treatment, believe it is a first for a snake.