Cancer, one of the world’s leading causes of death today, remains almost absent relative to other pathological conditions, in the archaeological record, giving rise to the conclusion that the disease is mainly a product of modern living and increased longevity. This paper presents a male, young-adult individual from the archaeological site of Amara West in northern Sudan (c. 1200BC) displaying multiple, mainly osteolytic, lesions on the vertebrae, ribs, sternum, clavicles, scapulae, pelvis, and humeral and femoral heads. Following radiographic, microscopic and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) imaging of the lesions, and a consideration of differential diagnoses, a diagnosis of metastatic carcinoma secondary to an unknown soft tissue cancer is suggested. This represents the earliest complete example in the world of a human who suffered metastatic cancer to date. The study further draws its strength from modern analytical techniques applied to differential diagnoses and the fact that it is firmly rooted within a well-documented archaeological and historical context, thus providing new insights into the history and antiquity of the disease as well as its underlying causes and progression.

We found an association between HLA-E*0103 homozygosity and the significant reduction of transplant-related mortality in related and unrelated HSCT. The risk of posttransplant complications was significantly reduced when the donor possesses the HLA-E*0103, 0103 genotype, and this was translated in a better overall survival.

The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-pro t purposes provided that:• a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in DRO • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders.Please consult the full DRO policy for further details. Abstract: Today, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death worldwide. Atherosclerosis, the thickening of the artery wall due to accumulating lipids, is one of the major causes. Generally assumed to be a disease of modern life-style related factors (smoking, obesity, hypertension), its history and epidemiology in the past are virtually unknown. Research on mummies from various geographic locations, time periods and socioeconomic backgrounds has revealed conclusive, albeit scant, evidence that atherosclerosis also affected past human populations. Little is known about the morphology of calcified atherosclerotic plaques that may be associated with human skeletal remains. Therefore, direct evidence of atherosclerosis from skeletal remains is largely absent. This paper presents five possible examples of calcified blood vessels which may represent atherosclerosis recovered from burials at Amara West, Sudan (1300-800BC) and reviews other potential causes of arterial calcification. Calcifications were recovered from the chest area of three middle-adult individuals as well as from the abdominal area and alongside the femur of two more. Based on morphology, anatomical location, scanning electron microscopy and radiography, they are probably calcified arterial plaques. These findings are unique in the bioarchaeological record and indicate that people have experienced atherosclerosis for at least 3000 years. Graphical Abstract (for review)Highlights:x Calcifications were recovered with skeletons from Amara West, Sudan (1300-800BC).x The structures can possibly be identified as calcified blood vessels.x The structures may result from calcification of atherosclerotic plaques.x The calcifications could be evidence of atherosclerosis in skeletal human remains.Highlights (for review) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 Atherosclerosis, the thickening of the artery wall due to accumulating lipids, is one of the major causes. Generally assumed to be a disease of modern life-style related factors (smoking, obesity, hypertension), its history and epidemiology in the past are virtually unknown.Research on mummies from various geographic locations, time periods and socioeconomic backgrounds has revealed conclusive, albeit scant, evidence that atherosclerosis also affected past hu...

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