Zimmerman M R
Cancer. 1977 Sep;40(3):1358-62. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(197709)40:3<1358::aid-cncr2820400354>3.0.co;2-j.
The relatively recent description in scientific literature of many types of cancer suggests their infrequency until the relatively recent past, a view supported by the paucity of diagnoses of malignancies in ancient remains. While overall life span was short in antiquity, many individuals did live to the "cancer age," as there is ample evidence of a variety of degenerative disorders. It has been suggested that tumors are not well enough preserved for diagnosis, and tumors experimentally mummified and rehydrated were evaluated as to their preservation. It was found that cancers were actually better preserved than normal tissues. The absence of tumors in ancient tissues must be considered a reflection of a markedly lower incidence than in the modern population of the Lnited States, in which cancer accounts for approximately 17% of all deaths. It is suggested that this increase in cancer is due to factors in the modern industrialized environment.
科学文献中对多种癌症的描述相对较新，这表明在不久之前它们还不常见，古代遗骸中恶性肿瘤诊断的匮乏也支持了这一观点。尽管古代的总体寿命较短，但许多人确实活到了“患癌年龄”，因为有充分证据表明存在各种退行性疾病。有人提出肿瘤保存得不够好，无法进行诊断，于是对实验性木乃伊化并重新水化的肿瘤进行了保存情况评估。结果发现，癌症实际上比正常组织保存得更好。古代组织中没有肿瘤，这一点必须被视为发病率明显低于现代美国人群的反映，在美国，癌症约占所有死亡人数的17%。有人认为癌症发病率的上升是由于现代工业化环境中的因素。
