Cancer for British Boy Ashya Shows 'No Progression': Czech Centre

Scans of brain tumor in five-year-old British boy Ashya King show "no progression" of cancer, a Prague medical centre said Wednesday, as he was cleared for potentially live-saving proton treatment here.

"We've learnt there's been no progression," Iva Tatounova, marketing director at the Proton Therapy Centre, told AFP.

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But the Prague-Motol hospital where Ashya is staying said it was "too early for forecasts".

Ashya's case made headlines after his parents removed him from a British hospital, sparking an international manhunt.

He is slated for a six-week-long course of proton beam therapy starting on Monday.

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The therapy, which is not available in Britain, is touted as being more precise than conventional radiotherapy as it only targets malignant cells.

Czech doctors said earlier that patients with similar tumours had a 70-percent chance of recovery on the condition the cancer had not spread.

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Ashya underwent brain scans and a spinal tap at the specialized Proton Therapy Centre after arriving in the Czech capital on Monday.

"Based on scans, physicians have confirmed the possibility of radiation at the Proton Therapy Centre," the Motol hospital said.

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"Chemotherapy will take place in parallel with the radiation treatment."

Ashya's parents whisked the boy away from a British hospital last month to Spain fearing traditional radiotherapy would damage his brain.

They were detained on an international warrant, after British authorities suspected they were not acting in the best interests of the child.

But after they spent four days in a Spanish prison, a British court reunited them with their son in a Spanish hospital and allowed them to travel to Prague for the treatment.

The case received widespread coverage in the British media, with public opinion shifting from outrage to sympathy for the parents.

British prosecutors have dropped the case against them after acknowledging that Ashya had been properly cared for.

Source-AFP