At the Chester Zoo, pythons were treated with electrochemotherapy for cancer
At Chester Zoo in the United Kingdom, a 23-year-old reticulated python named Jodie Foster underwent electrochemotherapy to treat a malignant tumor in her jaw. The facility believes this is the world’s first case of using this method of cancer treatment on a snake, according to The Guardian.
The python, which is 4.5 meters long and weighs 50 kilograms, began eating less and became less active in her enclosure. Veterinarians diagnosed her with fibrosarcoma—a malignant tumor. It was initially removed surgically, but the tumor later returned and began to affect the jawbone.
During the 90-minute procedure, zoo veterinarian Ian Ashpole first removed the tumor and part of the affected jawbone. Afterward, Jodi underwent electrochemotherapy to destroy any remaining cancer cells. Due to the animal’s size, two operating tables had to be pushed together for the procedure.
Electrochemotherapy combines the anticancer drug bleomycin with controlled electrical pulses delivered directly to the tumor site. The pulses temporarily increase the permeability of the cancer cells, allowing the drug to penetrate them more effectively.
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“When the tumor returned and began to destroy part of her jawbone, we realized that surgery alone would likely not be enough,” said Ashpole. According to him, the team enlisted the help of cancer specialists to adapt the method for the snake.
José Álvarez Picornell of the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences at the University of Liverpool noted that this was the first use of electrochemotherapy in a snake. They plan to publish details of the procedure so that veterinary specialists in different countries can draw on this experience.
During her latest checkup this week, Jodi Foster showed no signs of a cancer recurrence. The zoo reported that she is eating normally again and has been catching and swallowing food without difficulty in the months since the surgery.
