"It is the oldest known case of prostate cancer in ancient Egypt and the second oldest case in history," Prates said.
The earliest diagnosis of metastasizing prostate carcinoma came in 2007, when researchers investigated the skeleton of a 2,700-year-old Scythian king who died, aged 40-50, in the steppe of Southern Siberia, Russia.
"This study shows that cancer did exist in antiquity, for sure in ancient Egypt. The main reason for the scarcity of examples found today might be the lower prevalence of carcinogens and the shorter life expectancy," Paula Veiga, a researcher in Egyptology, told Discovery News.
Moreover, high-resolution CT scanners, able to detect tiny tumors (measuring 0.03-0.07 inches in diameter), became available only in 2005. This suggests that earlier researchers might have missed several cases.
"This technology improved significantly the interpretation of data. Radiology, and its latest developments, like high resolution CT scan, is a phenomenal non-destructive tool in many fields of art and archeology," Prates said.
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