Probable prostate cancer in a pre-Incaic individual from Pukara de la Cueva, northwestern Argentina

Abstract

Prostate carcinoma is a common malignant neoplasia that mostly metastasizes to bone in males. Nonetheless, the number of paleopathological cases reported is very small. Most of them were identified in Europe, and only two came from South American individuals. The purpose of this paper is to document the lesions identified in a pre-Columbian (around 1400 AD) individual that corresponds to a middle adult male from Pukara de la Cueva, Jujuy province, in the Northwest region of Argentina. The skeleton was found disarticulated but it is nearly complete and well preserved. The general character of the lesions observed is predominantly proliferative in nature, but osteolytic and mixed patterns were also detected in both axial and appendicular skeleton. Macroscopically, this overall pattern and the distribution of the lesions are compatible with a secondary cancer. Radiological examination showed multiple dense and irregular areas in several bones. The lesions visible by external inspection and by radiographs are in concordance with changes which are documented to occur in the course of prostatic carcinoma. The exuberance and dissemination of the lesions all over the skeleton led infer individual cachexy implying that he would have been assisted by his family and/or social group during the chronic process. Different carcinogenic risk factors associated to this kind of disease are discussed. This analysis adds new evidence of pre-Columbian carcinoma in South American native populations, as knowledge from clinical cases is considered to delineate a differential diagnosis.

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)

“…In the last decade, paleopathological reports of malignant neoplasms have become more frequent, with recent evidence recovered from diverse geographic and chronological settings (e.g. Prates et al, 2011;Binder et al, 2014;Lieverse et al, 2014;Luna et al, 2015). Strouhal and Němečková (2009) listed 250 cancer cases published up to 2007, and Hunt's (2013) survey points to similar values (n=263).…”

Aportes interdisciplinares en las investigaciones arqueológicas de la quebrada de La Cueva, provincia de Jujuy, Argentina

“…La particularidad de las patologías generó la necesidad de profundizar con Santos (bióloga especializada en paleopatologías y osteología humana), sumando estudios radiológicos. Esto reveló que uno de los individuos habría padecido un carcinoma metastásico de próstata, siendo el primer caso registrado arqueológicamente en Argentina (Luna et al 2015). La labor conjunta con bioarqueólogos también nos permitió avanzar en la conservación preventiva de los restos humanos, generando un protocolo de trabajo (Aranda y Ramundo 2010).…”

“…Algunos investigadores han destacado que los grupos endogámicos son más susceptibles a ciertas enfermedades a través de la transmisión de mutaciones, debido al pequeño tamaño de la población (Halperin 2004). Este podría ser el caso (con la cautela que implica contar con un solo ejemplo) de la sociedad del individuo analizado en HUM.06 con presencia de carcinoma prostático (Luna et al 2015). Proponemos esto, debido a que durante el periodo preincaico se planteó un proceso de conflicto o guerra endémica en el área de la Quebrada de Hu-doi: https://doi.org/10.…”

Extensive periosteal new bone formation in a skeleton from post-Medieval Chichester, England: A probable case of metastatic prostatic carcinoma

“…Of all the possible neoplastic diseases that can impact the skeleton (breast cancer, lung cancer, plasmacytoma, multiple myeloma, etc. ), prostate cancer is one of the most commonly observed in archaeology, with over 15 cases reported throughout the literature (Anderson et al, 1992;Baraybar and Shimada, 1993;de la Rúa et al, 1995;Grévin et al, 1997;Klaus, 2017;Lieverse et al, 2014;Luna et al, 2015;Mays et al, 1996;Merczi et al, 2014;Molnár et al, 2009;Prates et al, 2011;Schlott et al, 2007;Schultz et al, 2007;Tkocz and Bierring, 1984;Wakely et al, 1995;Waldron, 1997; see Ghabili et al, for a review of the current palaeopathological literature on prostate cancer). We present here a case of a skeleton with wide spread periosteal new bone (or PNB), together with radiological evidence of sclerotic secondary deposits, which we suggest represents a case of prostatic cancer dating to the 18 th /19 th centuries.…”