Berlusconi says he had cancer

Rome - The Italian opposition leader, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, said in a newspaper interview published yesterday that he had had surgery for prostate cancer and was now cured.

He told La Repubblica he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the second most common cancer in men, in May 1997.

"The illness was detected, and it was possible to fight it," said Mr Berlusconi (63), leader of the centre-right in Italy and a billionaire media magnate.

"I went through a nightmare lasting months. I am cured. I managed to come out of the tunnel," he said.

Mr Berlusconi, whose centre-right coalition won regional elections in April, said he had kept his illness a secret until now because he feared his political opponents might take advantage of any weakness.