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Archaeologists discover earliest complete example
of a human with cancer, from 3,000 years ago
Archaeologists discover earliest complete example
of a human with cancer, from 3,000 years ago
Date:
March 18,
2014
Source:
Durham University
Summary:
Archaeologists have found the oldest complete example
in the world of a human with metastatic cancer in a 3,000 year-old skeleton.
The skeleton of the young adult male was found in a tomb in modern Sudan in
2013 and dates back to 1200BC. Analysis has revealed evidence of metastatic
carcinoma, cancer which has spread to other parts of the body from where it started,
from a malignant soft-tissue tumour spread across large areas of the body,
making it the oldest convincing complete example of metastatic cancer in the
archaeological record.
..............................
Archaeologists
have found the oldest complete example in the world of a human with metastatic
cancer in a 3,000 year-old skeleton.
The findings
are reported in the academic journal PLOS ONE today (17 March).
The skeleton
of the young adult male was found by a Durham University PhD student in a tomb
in modern Sudan in 2013 and dates back to 1200BC.
Analysis has
revealed evidence of metastatic carcinoma, cancer which has spread to other
parts of the body from where it started, from a malignant soft-tissue tumour
spread across large areas of the body, making it the oldest convincing complete
example of metastatic cancer in the archaeological record.
The
researchers from Durham University and the British Museum say the discovery
will help to explore underlying causes of cancer in ancient populations and
provide insights into the evolution of cancer in the past. Ancient DNA analysis
of skeletons and mummies with evidence of cancer can be used to detect
mutations in specific genes that are known to be associated with particular
types of cancer.
Even though
cancer is one of the world's leading causes of death today, it remains almost
absent from the archaeological record compared to other pathological
conditions, giving rise to the conclusion that the disease is mainly a product
of modern living and increased longevity. These findings suggest that cancer is
not only a modern disease but was already present in the Nile Valley in ancient
times.
Lead author,
Michaela Binder, a PhD student in the Department of Archaeology at Durham
University, excavated and examined the skeleton. She said: "Very little is
known about the antiquity, epidemiology and evolution of cancer in past human
populations apart from some textual references and a small number of skeletons
with signs of cancer.
"Insights
gained from archaeological human remains like these can really help us to
understand the evolution and history of modern diseases.
"Our
analysis showed that the shape of the small lesions on the bones can only have
been caused by a soft tissue cancer even though the exact origin is impossible
to determine through the bones alone."
The skeleton
is of an adult male estimated to be between 25-35 years old when he died and
was found at the archaeological site of Amara West in northern Sudan, situated
on the Nile, 750km downstream of the country's modern capital Khartoum. It was
buried extended on his back, within a badly deteriorated painted wooden coffin,
and provided with a glazed faience amulet as a grave good.
Previously,
there has only been one convincing, and two tentative, examples of metastatic
cancer predating the 1st millennium BC reported in human remains. However,
because the remains derived from early 20th century excavations, only the
skulls were retained, thus making a full re-analysis of each skeleton, to
generate differential (possible) diagnoses, impossible.
Co-author,
Dr Neal Spencer from the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan at the British
Museum, said: "From footprints left on wet mud floors, to the healed
fractures of many ancient inhabitants, Amara West offers a unique insight into
what it was like to live there -- and die -- in Egyptian-ruled Upper Nubia 3200
years ago."
The skeleton
was examined by experts at Durham University and the British Museum using
radiography and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) which resulted in clear
imaging of the lesions on the bones. It showed cancer metastases on the collar
bones, shoulder blades, upper arms, vertebrae, ribs, pelvis and thigh bones.
The cause of
the cancer can only be speculative but the researchers say it could be as a
result of environmental carcinogens such as smoke from wood fires, through
genetic factors, or from infectious diseases such as schistosomiasis which is
caused by parasites.
They say
that an underlying schistosomiasis infection seems a plausible explanation for
the cancer in this individual as the disease had plagued inhabitants of Egypt
and Nubia since at least 1500BC, and is now recognised as a cause of bladder
cancer and breast cancer in men.
Michaela
Binder added: "Through taking an evolutionary approach to cancer,
information from ancient human remains may prove a vital element in finding
ways to address one of the world's major health problems."
The tomb,
where the skeleton was found, appears to have been used for high-status
individuals from the town, but not the ruling elite, based on the tomb
architecture and aspects of funerary ritual.
The tomb's
architecture is evidence of a hybrid culture blending Pharaonic elements
(burial goods, painted coffins) with Nubian culture (a low mound to mark the
tomb).
The well
preserved pottery recovered from the tomb provides a date within the 20th
Dynasty (1187-1064BC), a period when Egypt ruled Upper Nubia, endured conflicts
with Libya and while pharaohs such as Ramses III were being buried in the Valley
of the Kings.
Story
Source:
The above
story is based on materials provided by Durham University. Note: Materials may be edited
for content and length.
Journal
Reference:
- Michaela Binder, Charlotte Roberts, Neal Spencer, Daniel Antoine, Caroline Cartwright. On the Antiquity of Cancer: Evidence for Metastatic Carcinoma in a Young Man from Ancient Nubia (c. 1200BC). PLoS ONE, 2014; 9 (3): e90924 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090924
