US Senator diagnosed with brain tumor

Washington, July 20: US Senator John McCain, a former presidential hopeful, was diagnosed with a primary glioblastoma, a type of brain tumor, after undergoing a surgery to remove a blood clot, the media reported.

The 80-year-old Arizona Senator underwent the blood clot removal surgery on July 14 at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix. Lab results from that surgery confirmed the presence of brain cancer associated with the clot, CNN reported.

"Subsequent tissue pathology revealed that a primary brain tumor known as a glioblastoma was associated with the blood clot," Mayo Clinic Hospital said in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement also revealed McCain and his family are reviewing further treatment options that "may include a combination of chemotherapy and radiation", reports Xinhua news agency.

According to another statement released by his office, McCain is in good spirits as he's recovering at home from the surgery.



The statement said McCain "is confident that any future treatment will be effective".

Glioblastomas are tumors that arise from astrocytes, the star-shaped cells that make up the supportive tissues of the brain, according to American Brain Tumour Association.

They are usually highly cancerous as the cells reproduce quickly and they are supported by a large network of blood vessels.

"The news of my father's illness has affected every one of us in the McCain Family," Meghan McCain tweeted on Wednesday.

"It won't surprise you to learn that in all this, the one of us who is most confident and calm is my father," she said.

McCain had three other malignant melanomas removed in 1993, 2000, and 2002, but none of them were invasive.

He ran for the Republican nomination in 2000 but lost to George W. Bush, while he secured a 2008 nomination but was defeated by Democratic candidate Barack Obama.