A giant python named after Hollywood star Jodie Foster has been declared cancer-free following a pioneering treatment believed to be a world first.
The 15ft reticulated python underwent electrochemotherapy after a malignant tumour returned and began destroying part of her jawbone.
Vets at Chester Zoo joined forces with cancer specialists from the University of Liverpool to adapt the treatment, which is also used in humans.
READ MORE: Great White sharks are already lurking in British waters and more are on the way, expert says
- Advertisement -
Jodie, 23, required part of her diseased jaw to be removed during the 90-minute operation, as reported by What’s The Jam.
A final check this week found no signs that the cancer had returned.
She is now back in her habitat and eating normally – including swallowing whole thawed chickens.
Ian Ashpole, veterinary officer at Chester Zoo, said: “Seeing her back to her normal bright and feisty self has been incredibly rewarding.
“A few months ago, we genuinely didn’t know whether she’d survive.
- Advertisement -
“Now she’s eating normally, exploring her habitat and behaving exactly as we’d hope.”
Keepers first became concerned after Jodie started eating less and spending more time inactive.
Tests revealed a fibrosarcoma – a malignant tumour affecting connective tissue – in her jaw.
- Advertisement -
Vets initially removed the growth, but it returned and began invading the surrounding bone.
Dr Ashpole said: “When the tumour came back and started destroying part of her jawbone, we knew more surgery on its own probably wasn’t going to be enough.
“We were facing the possibility of losing her as the tumour made it more and more difficult for her to eat.
“So we worked with cancer specialists to see whether we could adapt electrochemotherapy for a snake.
“As far as we’re aware, this is the first time it has ever been used in one.”
Jodie was anaesthetised inside her habitat before being carried to the zoo’s Animal Health Centre.
There was no conventional operating table large enough for her, forcing the team to push two together.
Dr Ashpole said: “She is so big we had to put two operating tables together, effectively making one the size of a double bed.
“We used heated blankets and warmed air to keep her body temperature stable throughout the operation.
“After 90 minutes of surgery, she recovered remarkably quickly.”
Dr Ashpole removed the mass and carried out a hemimandibulectomy, taking away the diseased section of Jodie’s lower jaw.
Electrochemotherapy was then used to target any cancerous cells remaining around the operation site.
The treatment combines the chemotherapy drug bleomycin with controlled electrical pulses.
The pulses temporarily make cancer cells more permeable, allowing the drug to enter them more effectively and potentially enabling lower doses to be used.
Jose Alvarez Picornell, from the University of Liverpool’s Department of Small Animal Clinical Science, said: “The success of this treatment is a testament to the power of collaboration.
“By working closely with Ian, we were able to develop a plan that not only benefited Jodie Foster but will also contribute to the wider veterinary community.
“We will be formally publishing details of the procedure so veterinary colleagues around the world can learn from and build upon our approach.”
Despite losing part of her jawbone, Jodie continues to strike, grip and swallow food without difficulty.
Reticulated pythons have highly flexible jaws connected by stretchy ligaments, allowing them to swallow prey considerably wider than their heads.
Dr Ashpole added: “By bringing together zoo vets and cancer specialists, we’ve been able to use a treatment developed for people to save an animal in a way that’s never been done before.
“One day we’re treating a tiny frog that weighs just a few grams, the next we’re carrying a 15ft python into theatre.”
Jodie recently celebrated her 23rd birthday and has lived at Chester Zoo for 20 years.
Keepers named her after spotting the initials “JF” on her paperwork, which stood for “juvenile female”.
They decided it also suited the name of Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster, known for Taxi Driver and The Silence of the Lambs.
Jodie can now be found inside the zoo’s Realm of the Red Ape area.
READ MORE: Adorable baby hippo gets bath and name after vets confirm she is a GIRL
