29/05/2024 |
NILIMA MARSHALL, PA SCIENCE REPORTER
Ancient Egyptians were trying to understand and treat cancer more than 4,000 years ago, scientists believe.
Researchers have found evidence of cutmarks on a skull around a large lesion thought to have been caused by a cancerous growth.
They also found 30 smaller lesions across the skull, suggesting the cancer was spreading.
The skull belonged to a man who was around 30 to 35 when he died, the researchers said.
They said the cutmarks are likely to have been made with a sharp object, suggesting these ancient Egyptians may have tried to operate on the tumour.
Tatiana Tondini, a researcher at the University of Tubingen in Germany, said: “When we first observed the cutmarks under the microscope, we could not believe what was in front of us.”
But Professor Edgard Camaros, a palaeopathologist at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, said the surgical cutmarks might be from a medical autopsy to learn more about the disease after death.
He said: “Both possibilities reveal a surgical intervention intimately related with the tumours – and this is amazing.
“This finding is unique evidence of how ancient Egyptian medicine would have tried to deal with or explore cancer more than 4,000 years ago.
“This is an extraordinary new perspective in our understanding of the history of medicine.”
The team said its research, published in Frontiers in Medicine, suggest that although cancer is often seen as a man-made illness caused by environmental factors such as pollution and diet, the disease also affected ancient civilisations.
Prof Camaros, the lead author on the study, said: “It is true that cancer is perceived as a modern disease, mostly related with western habits and in relation to environmental carcinogens.
“However, cancer has been with us since the very beginning, in many ways. Even dinosaurs suffered from cancer.”
Ancient Egyptians were known to be highly skilled at medicine and had advanced knowledge of anatomy and surgery.
Evidence suggests they could identify, describe and treat wounds, diseases and fractures, and put in dental fillings.
But cancer was still a medical knowledge frontier, the researchers said.
They also analysed another skull more than 2,000 years old that belonged to a woman who may have been older than 50.
This revealed abig lesion consistent with a cancerous tumour that destroyed the bone, according to the team.
Prof Camaros said: “We know it was cancer based on the characteristics of the lesions on those bones, which mainly are related with bone creation and destruction.
“When analysing the bone structures with a micro-CT scan internally, we found very clear cancerous features.”
Both skulls come from the University of Cambridge’s Duckworth Collection, which houses one of the largest collections of human remains in the UK.
The researchers said the female skull also revealed two healed lesions thought to be from traumatic injuries caused by a sharp instrument.
They said this is uncommon as most violence-related injuries are found on males.
Prof Camaros said that overall, the findings are “encouraging” but “more studies will be needed to untangle how ancient societies dealt with cancer”.
He said as part of the next steps, the team is trying to understand more about how cancer evolved as a disease.
Prof Camaros said: “Our aim is to complete the biography of cancer from the very beginning of the human history.”
‘Extraordinary’ 4,000-year-old Egyptian skull may show signs of attempts to treat cancer
Cutmarks on a 4,000-year-old skull could be indications that the ancient Egyptians tried to operate on excessive tissue growth or learn more about cancerous disorders after a patient’s death
IMAGE:
SKULL AND MANDIBLE 236, DATING FROM BETWEEN 2687 AND 2345 BCE, BELONGED TO A MALE INDIVIDUAL AGED 30 TO 35. IMAGE: TONDINI, ISIDRO, CAMARÓS, 2024.
view moreCREDIT: TONDINI, ISIDRO, CAMARÓS, 2024.
From ancient texts we know that – for their times – the ancient Egyptians were exceptionally skilled at medicine. For example, they could identify, describe, and treat diseases and traumatic injuries, build protheses, and put in dental fillings. Other conditions, like cancer, they couldn’t treat – but they might have tried.
Examining the limits of traumatological and oncological treatments in ancient Egypt, an international team of researchers has now studied two human skulls, each thousands of years old.
“We see that although ancient Egyptians were able to deal with complex cranial fractures, cancer was still a medical knowledge frontier,” said Tatiana Tondini, a researcher at the University of Tübingen and first author of the study published in Frontiers in Medicine.
“This finding is unique evidence of how ancient Egyptian medicine would have tried to deal with or explore cancer more than 4,000 years ago,” added the study’s lead author, Prof Edgard Camarós, a paleopathologist at the University of Santiago de Compostela. “This is an extraordinary new perspective in our understanding of the history of medicine.”
Cutting away cancer
“We wanted to learn about the role of cancer in the past, how prevalent this disease was in antiquity, and how ancient societies interacted with this pathology,” explained Tondini. To do so, the researchers examined two skulls held at the University of Cambridge’s Duckworth Collection. Skull and mandible 236, dating from between 2687 and 2345 BCE, belonged to a male individual aged 30 to 35. Skull E270, dating from between 663 and 343 BCE, belonged to a female individual who was older than 50 years.
On skull 236, microscopic observation showed a big-sized lesion consistent with excessive tissue destruction, a condition known as neoplasm. In addition, there are 30 or so small and round metastasized lesions scattered across the skull.
What stunned the researchers was the discovery of cutmarks around these lesions, which probably were made with a sharp object such as a metal instrument. “When we first observed the cutmarks under the microscope, we could not believe what was in front of us,” said Tondini.
“It seems ancient Egyptians performed some kind of surgical intervention related to the presence of cancerous cells, proving that ancient Egyptian medicine was also conducting experimental treatments or medical explorations in relation to cancer,” explained co-author Prof Albert Isidro, a surgical oncologist at the University Hospital Sagrat Cor, who specializes in Egyptology.
Cancer in antiquity
Skull E270, too, shows a big lesion consistent with a cancerous tumor that led to bone destruction. This may indicate that although today’s lifestyle, people getting older, and cancer-causing substances in the environment increase cancer risk, cancer was also a common pathology in the past.
On skull E270, there are also two healed lesions from traumatic injuries. One of them seems to have originated from a close-range violent event using a sharp weapon. These healed lesions could mean that the individual potentially received some kind of treatment, and as a result, survived.
Seeing such a wound on a female individual, however, is uncommon, and most violence-related injuries are found on males. “Was this female individual involved in any kind of warfare activities?” asked Tondini. “If so, we must rethink the role of women in the past and how they took active part in conflicts during antiquity.”
The researchers, however, also said that studying skeletal remains comes with certain challenges that make definitive statements difficult, especially since remains often are incomplete and there is no known clinical history. “In archaeology we work with a fragmented portion of the past, complicating an accurate approach,” Isidro pointed out.
“This study contributes to a changing of perspective and sets an encouraging base for future research on the field of paleo-oncology, but more studies will be needed to untangle how ancient societies dealt with cancer,” concluded Camarós.
Skull E270, dating from between 663 and 343 BCE, belonged to a female individual who was older than 50 years. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.
Cutmarks found on skull 236, probably made with a sharp object. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.
Several of the metastatic lesions on skull236 display cutmarks. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.
The skulls were examined using microscopic analysis and CT scanning. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.
The skulls were examined using microscopic analysis and CT scanning. Image: Tondini, Isidro, Camarós, 2024.
JOURNAL
Frontiers in Medicine
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Case study
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Not applicable
ARTICLE TITLE
Boundaries of oncological and traumatological medical care in ancient Egypt: New palaeopathological insights from two human skulls
ARTICLE PUBLICATION DATE
29-May-2024
COI STATEMENT
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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