Kennedy finishes tumor treatment phase

BOSTON, July 27 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., has completed the first phase of treatment for a malignant brain tumor at a Massachusetts hospital, sources say.

A source told WCVB-TV in Boston Kennedy's chemotherapy treatment regimen at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston lasted about six weeks and is now over.

Kennedy, 76, had major surgery at Duke University Medical Center June 2 in an effort to reduce the size of the tumor and buy time for further treatment to work, the station said.

The prognosis for patients with malignant glioma tumors such as Kennedy's is usually poor with the median survival for moderately severe tumors listed as three to five years, WCVB reported. Patients with the most severe types tend to survive less than a year.