Cancer explored at 3,200 year old skeleton

3,200 years old skeleton shows clear traces of cancer

03/19/2014

Cancer - a disease of the genes, whose emergence can be promoted among other things by UV rays, tobacco smoke, chemicals, chronic infections, increased alcohol consumption as well as by an unhealthy lifestyle with insufficient fruit, vegetables and movement. Accordingly, the so-called „Scourge of humanity“, which is now the leading cause of death within the European Union „modern“ Illness. But now British researchers have apparently discovered in a 3,200-year-old skeleton cancer metastases, thus providing the latest evidence for the long history of the disease.

Cancer has so far been perceived as a disease of modern times
So far, cancer has been perceived by experts as well as within the population as more of a disease of the modern age, caused or promoted by aspects of the „modern“ Lifestyle such as smoking, over-consumption of alcohol, unbalanced diet and too little exercise. However, researchers from Durham University in the UK as well as from the „British Museum“ in London the recent evidence that the disease was not created in the wake of modernity, but instead seems to have existed for some thousands of years. For example, the archaeologist Michaela Binder from the English university in Sudan discovered a more than 3,200-year-old male skeleton drawn by cancer traces, something the scientists have not yet discovered in this way: „Dated to 1200 BC, the individual of Amara West in Sudan was identified worldwide as one of the earliest humans to have suffered from secondary malignant tumors“, the researchers currently in the journal "PLoS One".

Insights create new opportunities for researching the disease
As the scientists further report, the analysis of the human remains revealed slight bone injuries of the deceased at the age of 25 to 35 years, for whom only cancer as cause in question. The cancer had apparently claimed the man heavily, because the investigation showed traces of metastases on both collarbones, shoulder blades and cervical vertebrae as well as on the arms, ribs, hip and pelvic bones. On the basis of these findings, it is now possible to further research on the history of the disease, which has not yet been clearly clarified, because even in the example of the skeleton found, it was still unclear what caused the cancer in the young man and whether this actually led to his death. „The study draws its strength from modern analytical techniques used for differential diagnoses and from the fact that it is firmly anchored in a well-documented archaeological and historical context, providing new insights into the history and antiquity of the disease as well as the underlying causes and the course become possible“, so the conclusion of the researchers. (No)