Early evidence for cancer in Sudan: an advanced example of bone metastases from ancient Nubia (circa 2500–2050 BCE)

Computed radiography was conducted at the facilities of the Department of Scientific Research of the British Museum (London, UK), using an Y.TU450-D11 x-ray tube (Yxlon International, Hamburg, Germany) with settings of 70 kV and 40 mA, and an exposure time of 300 s. Osteolytic, osteoblastic, and mixed lesions were recorded in the ribs, spine, and pelvis (figure). Plasma cell myeloma (or multiple myeloma) usually results in the formation of small, regular lesions and is unlikely to have caused the changes seen here, due to the presence of both mixed and osteoblastic lesions. [...]without knowing the age and sex of the skeleton, and with an absence of soft tissue evidence, the location of the primary tumour cannot be ascertained.