15-Foot Python at Chester Zoo Receives Pioneering Human Cancer Treatment

A 15-foot python at Chester Zoo in England has made veterinary history after receiving a pioneering cancer treatment normally used in humans.

The 23-year-old reticulated python, named Jodie Foster, developed a malignant tumor called fibrosarcoma in her jaw. Zoo keepers became concerned after noticing that she was eating less and spending more time inactive.

Veterinarians initially removed the tumor through surgery, but it later returned and began invading Jodie’s jawbone. With her ability to eat increasingly threatened, the veterinary team worked with cancer specialists at the University of Liverpool to adapt a treatment called electrochemotherapy for use in a snake.

The procedure combines the cancer drug bleomycin with carefully controlled electrical pulses delivered directly to the tumor site. The electrical pulses temporarily make cancer cells more permeable, allowing the drug to enter more effectively.

Jodie underwent surgery to remove the tumor and a diseased section of her jawbone before receiving electrochemotherapy to target remaining cancer cells.

Her size created another unusual challenge. Veterinarians had to place two operating tables together to create a surface roughly the size of a double bed. Jodie was anesthetized in her habitat before being transported to the zoo’s veterinary center.

Months after the procedure, veterinarians confirmed that Jodie was cancer-free. The zoo says she has returned to her normal behavior, is eating normally and has maintained her ability to hunt despite losing part of her jawbone.

Chester Zoo officials believe this is the first known use of electrochemotherapy in a snake. The veterinary team and University of Liverpool specialists plan to formally publish details of the procedure so other veterinarians can learn from the treatment.

CNN Newsource contributed to this report.

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