Earliest hominin cancer: 1.7-million-year-old osteosarcoma from Swartkrans Cave, South Africa

A groundbreaking discovery reveals the earliest confirmed case of malignant cancer in the hominin fossil record, dating back 1.7 million years to Swartkrans Cave in South Africa. This osteosarcoma was identified using advanced 3D imaging techniques, challenging the assumption that neoplastic diseases were rare or limited to benign conditions in pre-modern humans. The finding suggests that primary bone tumors, often occurring in younger individuals and unrelated to modern lifestyles, have a significant antiquity. This case underscores the potential for ancient fossils to preserve evidence of malignant diseases, providing new insights into the evolutionary history of cancer.

Odes, E. J., Randolph-Quinney, P. S., Steyn, M., Throckmorton, Z., Smilg, J. S., Zipfel, B., Augustine, T. N., De Beer, F., Hoffman, J. W., Franklin, R. D., & Berger, L. R. (2016). Earliest hominin cancer: 1.7-million-year-old osteosarcoma from Swartkrans Cave, South Africa. South African Journal of Science, 112(7/8), 5. https://doi.org/10.17159/sajs.2016/20150471