Thursday 27 October 2011

Mummy has oldest case of prostate cancer in Ancient Egypt

A 2150-year-old Egyptian mummy - known as M1 - from the National Archaeological Museum in Lisbon has been diagnosed as oldest known case of prostate cancer in ancient Egypt and the second oldest case in the world.

A new study in the International Journal of Paleopathology suggests investigators may have underestimated the prevalence of cancer in ancient populations. High-resolution computerized tomography (CT) scanners are now capable of finding tumours measuring just 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter only became available in 2005.

Researchers detected many small, round, dense tumours in M1's pelvis and lumbar spine, as well as in his upper arm and leg bones.

The earliest diagnosis of prostate cancer came from the 2700-year-old skeleton of a Scythian king in Russia.

See: ScienceNow

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