Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Factors involved in modern day living, such as smoking and exposure to certain chemicals, are thought to be major causes of the disease. Now, there is evidence that cancer was present in humans more than 3,000 years ago; archaeologists have discovered the world’s first complete human skeleton with metastatic cancer that dates back to 1200 BC. The research team, led by Michaela Binder, a PhD student in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University in the UK, recently published the details of their discovery in the journal PLOS ONE. The investigators say their findings could provide insight into the evolution of cancer and lead to discoveries that may help future treatment of the disease. Binder discovered the skeleton last year in a tomb at Amara West in northern Sudan. The skeleton is of a young adult male, estimated to be between 25-35 years old when he died. Experts at Durham University and the British Museum used radiography and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to analyze the bones of the skeleton. This revealed that cancer had spread from an unknown organ to the bones. Cancer metastases were found on the collar bones, shoulder blades, upper arms, vertebrae, ribs, pelvis and thigh bones. “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,” says Binder.

Ancient humans ‘could have contracted cancer just as much as people do today’ Although the researchers cannot be sure as to exactly what caused cancer in this human, they say there could be several possibilities. Binder told Medical News Today that it could have been caused by an infectious disease, such as Bilharzia. This is a parasitic infection that causes liver cirrhosis and has been linked to breast cancer in men. Share on Pinterest Pictured is a lytic lesion – an area of bone destroyed by cancer – in the vertebrae of the 3,000-year-old skeleton.

Image credit: British Museum. She said that exposure to smoke from wood fires could have also caused this man to develop cancer. “We know that the people at Amara West had large ovens in roofed or small, enclosed spaces. People in these rooms would have been exposed to a lot of smoke, which is just as unhealthy as smoking,” she added. The researchers say there is no doubt that cancer is more common today than it was in the past. This is mainly because people are living longer and there are more environmental factors that can cause cancer. But Binder says the team’s discovery suggests that ancient humans could have contracted cancer just as much as people do today. “One of the reasons why there is so little evidence for cancer in the past is because it’s difficult to diagnose in skeletons. But with more research and better investigative techniques, it is possible that in future people will find more evidence for cancer in the past,” she added.