Image copyright Reuters Image caption Jimmy Carter revealed his illness in August

Former US President Jimmy Carter has said that his brain cancer is gone.

"My most recent MRI brain scan did not reveal any signs of the original cancer spots nor any new ones," Mr Carter said in a statement.

The 91-year-old first announced the news during a Sunday school class in Plains, Georgia.

Mr Carter, who was president from 1977 to 1981 and won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, revealed his illness in August.

Doctors have been treating four small melanoma lesions on his brain.

Last month, Mr Carter said he was responding well to treatment and there were no signs of further cancer growth.

Jill Stuckey, a member of the congregation at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper that Mr Carter had been teaching the class of about 350 people when he made the announcement.

"He said he got a scan this week and the cancer was gone," she said.

"The church, everybody here, just erupted in applause."

Human rights advocate

Mr Carter revealed in August that cancer initially found in his liver had spread to four spots on his brain. The lesion on his liver was removed on 12 August.

After leaving the White House, Mr Carter founded the Carter Center, which focuses on human-rights efforts and political mediation.

He has remained active with the centre ever since.

Mr Carter - a Georgia Democrat - won the Nobel Peace prize for his commitment to finding peaceful solutions to international conflicts and his work with human rights and democracy initiatives.