4:29pm UK, Wednesday May 21, 2008

Senator Edward Kennedy, who has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour, has walked out of hospital ahead of schedule.

Senator Kennedy leaves hospital

Doctors said that the Senator had recovered remarkably quickly from a procedure he underwent and therefore would be released early.

The tumour in his left parietal lobe was discovered after he suffered a seizure at the weekend.

Preliminary results from a biopsy of the brain identified the tumour as the cause.

Senator Kennedy is expected to return to his Cape Cod home while he awaits further test results.

According to doctors, he was feeling well and was eager to get started on treatment.

The 76-year-old has been in hospital in Boston since Saturday, when he was airlifted from his home after suffering a seizure.

His wife and children have been at his bedside every day.

Doctors have said the senator has had no further seizures and was walking around the hospital.

The Massachusetts senator is a leading liberal voice in America and has given Barack Obama his backing in the race for the Democratic nomination for the US presidency.

He is the second-longest serving member of the current Senate, having first been elected in 1962, and is the last surviving of four Kennedy brothers.

Senator Kennedy's eldest brother Joseph died in a plane crash in World War II, President John F Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and Robert was assassinated in 1968 during his presidential campaign.