Los Angeles, Tuesday

A TUMOUR removed from actress Audrey Hepburn's colon was found to be

cancerous, a hospital spokesman said today.

Ron Wise, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, said it was categorised as a

''low-grade malignancy'' and that doctors were confident they had

removed the entire tumour before it affected any of the 63-year-old

actress' organs.

Hepburn, who underwent surgery on Sunday, was listed in fair condition

and was expected to be released from the hospital within a week, Wise

said.

''It's a cancerous tumour. There are more aggressive and less

aggressive cancers. This is a less aggressive type,'' he said. ''The

doctors feel they've caught it all,'' Wise added.

Hepburn, best known for starring roles in such classics as My Fair

Lady and Breakfast at Tiffany's, recently toured refugee camps in

famine-ravaged Somalia as a goodwill ambassador for Unicef, the United

Nation's children's fund.

She had complained of stomach problems after returning and doctors at

first thought she had picked up an amoeba infection in Africa, Wise

said.

But tests showed the presence of a tumour.Reuter.