Archaeologists discover earliest example of human with cancer

3,000-year-old skeleton found in tomb in modern Sudan

British archaeologists have found what they say is the world’s oldest complete example of a human being with metastatic cancer and hope it will offer new clues about the common and often fatal disease.

Researchers from Durham University and the British Museum discovered the evidence of tumours that had developed and spread throughout the body in a 3,000-year-old skeleton found in a tomb in modern Sudan in 2013.

Analysing the skeleton using radiography and a scanning electron microscope, they managed to get clear imaging of lesions on the bones which showed the cancer had spread to cause tumours on the collar bones, shoulder blades, upper arms, vertebrae, ribs, pelvis and thigh bones.

“Insights gained from archaeological human remains like these can really help us to understand the evolution and history of modern diseases,” said Michaela Binder, a Durham PhD student who led the research and excavated and examined the skeleton.

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“Our analysis showed that the shape of the small lesions on the bones can only have been caused by a soft tissue cancer.”

Despite being one of the world’s leading causes of death today, cancer is virtually absent in archaeological records compared to other diseases – and that has given rise to the idea cancers are mainly attributable to modern lifestyles and people living longer.


New cancer cases
According to the World Health Organisation's cancer research agency, new cancer cases rose to an estimated 14 million a year in 2012.

Yet these new findings, published in the Public Library of Science journal Plos One yesterday, suggest cancer is not only a modern disease, but was around in the Nile Valley even in ancient times.

Binder said the discovery should help scientists explore the underlying causes of cancer in ancient populations and give new clues about the evolution of the disease. – (Reuters)