Anthropology Commons^™

Cancers As Rare Diseases: Terminological, Theoretical, And Methodological Biases, Carina Marques, Charlotte Roberts, Vitor M. J. Matos, Jane E. Buikstra

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective

Was cancer a rare disease in the past? Our objective is to consider the various terminological, theoretical, and methodological biases that may affect perceptions of the rarity of cancer in the past.

Materials and methods

We discuss relevant malignant neoplastic biomedical and paleopathological literature and evaluate skeletal data. We selected 108 archaeological sites (n = 151 cancer cases) with published malignant neoplasms and that were amenable to calculating cancer crude prevalence. Furthermore, datasets from four medieval/postmedieval Portuguese and 12 postmedieval UK sites were used to compare age-adjusted rates for metastatic bone disease and tuberculosis.

Results

In the literature review, …

Absence Of Evidence Or Evidence Of Absence? A Discussion On Paleoepidemiology Of Neoplasms With Contributions From Two Portuguese Human Skeletal Reference Collections (19th–20th Century), Carina Marques, Vítor Matos, Tiago Costa, Albert Zink, Eugénia Cunha

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Biological, sociocultural, demographic and environmental factors are major contributors to the contemporary burden of oncological diseases. Although cancer’s current epidemiological landscape is fairly well known, its past occurrence and history seem more obscure. In order to test the hypothesis that paleopathological diagnosis is an adequate measure of the prevalence of malignant neoplasms in human remains, 131 skeletons (78 females, 53 males, age-at-death range: 15–93 years) from Coimbra and Lisbon Identified Skeletal Collections, 19th/20th century (Portugal), were examined. The cause of death for all of the selected skeletons was a malignant neoplasm, as recorded in the collection’s documental files. Through the …

Absence Of Evidence Or Evidence Of Absence? A Discussion On Paleoepidemiology Of Neoplasms With Contributions From Two Portuguese Human Skeletal Reference Collections (19th–20th Century), Carina Marques, Vítor Matos, Tiago Costa, Albert Zink, Eugénia Cunha

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Biological, sociocultural, demographic and environmental factors are major contributors to the contemporary burden of oncological diseases. Although cancer’s current epidemiological landscape is fairly well known, its past occurrence and history seem more obscure. In order to test the hypothesis that paleopathological diagnosis is an adequate measure of the prevalence of malignant neoplasms in human remains, 131 skeletons (78 females, 53 males, age-at-death range: 15–93 years) from Coimbra and Lisbon Identified Skeletal Collections, 19th/20th century (Portugal), were examined. The cause of death for all of the selected skeletons was a malignant neoplasm, as recorded in the collection’s documental files. Through the …

Better A Broader Diagnosis Than A Misdiagnosis: The Study Of A Neoplastic Condition In A Male Individual Who Died In Early 20th Century (Coimbra, Portugal), Carina Marques, Ana Luisa Santos, Eugénia Cunha

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The paleopathological record of neoplastic conditions in the past is considered scarce. The detection of tumours in ancient populations is hindered by the quality and quantity of signs visible on the skeleton, the methodological approach, the preservation of remains, and by difficulties of differential diagnosis. The aims of this paper are to report the extensive and multiple osteolytic lesions observed in an adult male and to discuss the possible etiology of these lesions. The individual, a 71-year-old male who died in 1932, is part of the Coimbra Identified Skeletal Collection. Records indicate that he died of a ‘heart lesion’. The …