Fluctuating disease rates, innovative treatments and talk of “moonshots” in the White House may make cancer seem like a modern scourge. But a new discovery highlights how humans dealt with the illness and hunted for cures as far back as the time of the ancient Egyptians. Scientists led by Edgard Camarós, a paleopathologist at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain were studying an approximately 4,600-year-old Egyptian skull when they found signs of brain cancer and its treatment. This discovery, reported in a study published Wednesday in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, suggests that ancient Egyptians studied brain cancer using surgery. If the cuts were made while the person was alive, they may have even attempted to treat it.

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Persons: Edgard Camarós, ”, Camarós, Tatiana Tondini, Albert Isidro Organizations: University of Santiago, University of Tübingen, University Hospital Sagrat Locations: University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Germany, Medicine