Giant python undergoing cancer treatment recovered

The 23-year-old reticulated python, housed at Chester Zoo and named "Jodie Foster" by its caretakers, was at the center of a significant first in veterinary medicine and oncology.

The 50-kilogram reptile, diagnosed with a malignant tumor in its jaw during checks prompted by symptoms of loss of appetite and weakness, experienced a relapse after the initial surgery.
As the tumor spread to the jawbone, experts decided to adapt the electro-chemotherapy method, typically used in humans, for a snake for the first time.

A special operating area, the size of a double bed, was prepared for the snake, as it was too large to fit on a single operating table.During a 90 minute surgical intervention involving expert veterinarians and oncologists, the mass in the jaw was first removed, and then chemotherapy drugs were administered to the area accompanied by electrical pulses.This method temporarily made cell membranes permeable, allowing the drug to directly penetrate the remaining cancerous cells.

In the final checks carried out months after the operation, no signs of cancer were found, and it was announced that the python had fully recovered its health, retaining its ability to catch and swallow its prey.
Experts from the University of Liverpool, who carried out the treatment, announced that the successful outcome would be published as a scientific paper to guide their colleagues worldwide.