May 20 (Bloomberg) -- Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, one of the nation's most influential lawmakers, has a malignant brain tumor.
Tests conducted after Kennedy suffered a seizure over the weekend show the 76-year-old Democrat has a tumor in his left parietal lobe, according to a statement from his doctors. Treatment, which usually entails combinations of radiation and chemotherapy, will be determined following more testing, they said.
Kennedy ``remains in good spirits and full of energy,'' the statement said, and will stay at Massachusetts General Hospital for the next couple of days.
Only 25 to 30 percent of patients survive more than two or three years after diagnosis of a malignant glioma, said Henry Brem, chief of neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, in a telephone interview.
Doctors generally perform surgery to remove the tumor if it is safe to do so and they may implant a tumor-shrinking chemical near the tumor site.
President George W. Bush called Kennedy ``a man of tremendous courage, remarkable strength, and powerful spirit. Our thoughts are with Senator Kennedy and his family during this difficult period.''
Group Prayer
The diagnosis prompted an outpouring of emotion among Kennedy's somber colleagues. Republican senators, gathered for their weekly lunch on Capitol Hill, held a group prayer after an aide handed a note to party leaders. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada broke the news to fellow Democrats at their separate lunch meeting.
``I am having a hard time remembering a day in my 34 years here that I felt this badly,'' said Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat. ``The most important thing to do is pray.''
Several senators had tears in their eyes while talking to reporters and West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd wept in the Senate chamber.
``Ted, Ted, my dear friend I love you and I miss you,'' said Byrd.
Reid said that Kennedy's wife told him that her husband is ``in really good spirits and walking with `a bounce in his step he hasn't had a long time.'''
Kennedy has been active in the presidential campaign, giving Democrat Barack Obama's campaign a boost with an endorsement in January and occasionally campaigning for the Illinois senator.
`Heartbreaking'
``It's heartbreaking,'' Obama said of the diagnosis in an interview on MSNBC. ``Ted Kennedy is not only a giant of the Senate he's a great friend to all of us.''
Obama's rival for the Democratic nomination, New York Senator Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential candidate John McCain issued statements saying they were praying for his recovery.
Clinton called Kennedy ``one of the greatest legislators in Senate history.''
Under Massachusetts law a special election has to be held to replace a senator who doesn't complete his term.
``Unless it's clear his health is in danger by continuing and that his condition is irreversible, I think it's unlikely he would resign and I don't think he should,'' said Michael Glennon, a professor at Tufts University, who has served on Kennedy's campaign staff in 1980. ``Other senators have confronted debilitating conditions and it is possible the way the Senate works to ride out a condition like this even for an extended period of time.'' ``
A spokesman for Kennedy's office said there would be no comment beyond the doctor's announcement.
Malignant Glioma
The statement from Kennedy's doctors identified the cause of the seizure as a ``malignant glioma.'' Gliomas are tumors that begin in the glial cells, which normally form the supporting structure of nerves.
Steroids may be used to reduce brain tissue swelling, and medications may be prescribed to quiet seizures. Doctors may use radiation and chemotherapy to destroy tumor cells if they can't perform surgery, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Kennedy, the youngest of nine children, was first elected to the Senate in 1962 and is considered one of its most influential members over a career that is in its fifth decade. He took over the seat vacated by his brother, President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated the following year.
Robert Kennedy
A second brother, New York Senator Robert Kennedy, was shot and killed while running for president in 1968. Edward Kennedy made a failed bid for the nation's top office in 1980, challenging former President Jimmy Carter in the Democratic primaries.
Kennedy has served as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is now chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
``He's the last in the line of a great political family of that generation,'' said Elaine Kamarck, 57, a lecturer at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. ``They defined the Democratic Party for many decades.''
He is the third-longest serving senator in U.S. history, after the late Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and Byrd.
Kennedy has been a leader in every major change in immigration laws since the 1960s and has pushed to raise the minimum wage over the years. His legislative accomplishments include helping to overhaul campaign finance, to give 18-year- olds the vote and to abolish the poll tax.
Kennedy underwent surgery six months ago to repair severe narrowing of the left carotid artery, the statement said.
About 45,000 people will be diagnosed with brain cancers this year, and about 100,000 more will suffer from tumors that migrated from other tissues and organs to the brain, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.
The parietal lobe, where Kennedy's tumor was found, plays a role in the perception of temperature, pressure and pain. Damage to the lobe can lead to dyslexia, language disorders, confusion between the right and the left, an inability to write, and an inability to do math, according to the Centre for Neuro Skills in Encino, California.
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