Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Connecting Palaeopathology And Evolutionary Medicine To Cancer Research: Past And Present, Carina Marques, Zachary Compton, Amy M. Boddy

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cancer has a significant impact on morbidity and mortality worldwide, with estimates reaching 18.1 million cases in 2018 alone. This chapter reviews the contributions of evolutionary medicine and palaeopathology to oncological research and addresses how these disciplines can conjointly develop models that evaluate how biological, ecological and sociocultural dynamics have prompted the development of cancer across deep time. It highlights that cancer has a long history affecting species across the tree of life, as well as being particularly pervasive in human populations today. While addressing recent advances in comparative oncology and palaeopathology, it discusses how novel environments may contribute to …