Paleo-Oncology and Mummies

Nerlich A.G., Bianucci R. (2020) Paleo-Oncology and Mummies. In: Shin D.H., Bianucci R. (eds) The Handbook of Mummy Studies. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-3354-9_38

Abstract

Paleo-oncology is a relatively new branch of paleopathology aimed at identifying pathognomonic cancer lesions in ancient human remains while trying to recon- struct its incidence in the history of humankind. Besides the mere identification of cancer types, the central question concerns the prevalence of malignant tumors in different time periods, different populations, and the identification of factors influencing carcinogenesis. Malignant lesions in paleopathology specimens are rare and only five have been identified in mummified remains so far. Currently, the epidemiological data suggest that, in historic populations, shorter life expectancies may have played a major role in determining lower cancer rates. However, thanks to the growing number of radiological investigations (e.g., Multidetector Computed Tomogra- phy- MDCT), more ancient cases of malignant tumors can be diagnosed in the years to come, thus modifying the actual paleo-epidemiological data. To achieve this, modern imaging, genetic analysis, and molecular biology techniques will be pivotal in the investigation of both mummies and skeletonized remains in order to find evidence of malignant lesions.