English Researchers Find Virtually No Cancer Traces in Ancient Humans

[G_j]

http://jonathanturley.org/2010/10/17/english-researchers-find-virtually-no-cancer-traces-in-ancient-humans/

English Researchers Find Virtually No Cancer Traces in Ancient Humans

Published 1, October 17, 2010

Professors Michael Zimmerman and Rosalie David in England have an intriguing suggestion in their recent study of mummies: cancer may be a largely man-made disease. The study found no evidence of the disease in ancient corpses — leading to the theory that cancer may be the result of diet, pollution, and other man-made causes such as early use of snuff.


The researchers examined tissue from hundreds of Egyptian mummies and found only one case with cancer traces. Likewise, an earlier study of thousands of Neanderthal bones produced only one sample with possible cancer traces.

Some of the first published accounts of cancerous growths have been linked directly to such man-made causes as the use of snuff.

Such accounts largely occurred in the last 200 years with early accounts of nasal cancer (from snuff) and scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps — both in the eighteenth century.

Source: Daily Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1320507/Cancer-purely-man-say-scientists-finding-trace-disease-Egyptian-mummies.html

[zazen]

1. Catherine of Aragon died of melanotic sarcoma metsd to her heart

That was in 1536.

Still, interesting notion. Do they say that man-made causes contribute to cancer in dogs and cats?

[DavidDvorkin]

2. More likely they tended to die too young.

[lightningandsnow]

3. And the most common cancers in children today...

are the kind that wouldn't show up in ancient remains - leukemia and brain tumors.

[DavidDvorkin]

5. Interesting point

That hadn't occurred to me.

[BrentWil]

4. Could have something to do with dying early from other stuff

NT

[awoke_in_2003]

6. "from other stuff"

like war and pestilence (which seem to go hand in hand)

[provis99]

7. this theory is crap and has already been debunked.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19591-briefing-cancer-is-not-a-disease-of-the-modern-world.html