Python cancer-free after ‘world-first’ treatment
Surgeons removed part of the snake's jaw before performing electrochemotherapy.
A reticulated python is cancer-free after becoming the first snake to have a pioneering human cancer therapy.
The 15-foot snake, named Jodie Foster, underwent electrochemotherapy – a treatment usually used for humans.
Jodie was given the treatment when the cancerous tumour returned after a surgical procedure. The tumour had invaded her jawbone, causing it to become diseased.
Since Jodie was too big for one operating table, her veterinary team had to improvise. The python was anaesthetised in her habitat, then carried to the veterinary centre.
Meanwhile, at the veterinary centre, the team had put two operating tables together into a ’double bed’, complete with heated blankets and warmed air to maintain her temperature.
Ian Ashpole, veterinary officer at Chester Zoo, began by surgically removing the tumorous mass. He then performed a hemi-mandibulectomy to remove part of Jodie’s diseased jawbone.
They then begun electrochemotherapy, which targeted any remaining cancerous cells.
The procedure combined a cancer drug, bleomycin, with a series of carefully controlled electrical pulses directed at the tumour site.
The pulses make the cancer cells temporarily more permeable, which permits the bleomycin to enter more effectively. This means that lower doses of chemotherapy can be used, often in a single procedure.
Following the procedure, Jodie has fully recovered and has been declared cancer-free. Even with part of her jawbone removed, she is able to strike, grip and swallow food without difficulty.
Dr Ashpole 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. Now she's eating normally, exploring her habitat and behaving exactly as we'd hope.”
Jose Alvarez Picornell, from the Department of Small Animal Clinical Science at University of Liverpool, said: "Electrochemotherapy is an emerging treatment, and this was the first time it had been used in a snake 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 that veterinary colleagues around the world can learn from and build upon our approach. This has been a very special career highlight for me, and a fantastic opportunity to expand the work we do within the Department to support high-quality veterinary and translational research.”
Companies marketing medicines for small pets exempt from authorisation must submit their annual return to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) by 30 November 2026.
