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LONDON: A zoo in Britain hailed on Friday curing a cancer-stricken python named after Hollywood star Jodie Foster, who became the first snake to receive an innovative treatment combining surgery and electrochemotherapy (ECT).

Chester Zoo, in north-western England, said the 4.5 metre (15-foot) reticulated python had fully recovered after first undergoing surgery and then receiving ECT following the return of a cancerous tumour in her jawbone.

Animals are increasingly being treated for cancer with drugs and therapies once only used on humans.

Other creatures, including a turtle and lizard, have had ECT treatment previously, according to case reports posted on medical science databases.