A brief history of cancer: Age‐old milestones underlying our current knowledge database

Abstract

This mini-review chronicles the history of cancer ranging from cancerous growths discovered in dinosaur fossils, suggestions of cancer in Ancient Egyptian papyri written in 1500-1600 BC, and the first documented case of human cancer 2,700 years ago, to contributions by pioneers beginning with Hippocrates and ending with the originators of radiation and medical oncology. Fanciful notions that soon fell into oblivion are mentioned such as Paracelsus and van Helmont substituting Galen's black bile by mysterious ens or archeus systems. Likewise, unfortunate episodes such as Virchow claiming Remak's hypotheses as his own remind us that human shortcomings can affect otherwise excellent scientists. However, age-old benchmark observations, hypotheses, and practices of historic and scientific interest are underscored, excerpts included, as precursors of recent discoveries that shaped modern medicine. Examples include: Petit's total mastectomy with excision of axillary glands for breast cancer; a now routine practice, Peyrilhe's ichorous matter a cancer-causing factor he tested for transmissibility one century before Rous confirmed the virus-cancer link, Hill's warning of the dangers of tobacco snuff; heralding today's cancer pandemic caused by smoking, Pott reporting scrotum cancer in chimney sweepers; the first proven occupational cancer, Velpeau's remarkable foresight that a yet unknown subcellular element would have to be discovered in order to define the nature of cancer; a view confirmed by cancer genetics two centuries later, ending with R€ ontgen and the Curies, and Gilman et al. ushering radiation (1896, 1919) and medical oncology (1942), respectively. From prehistory to ancient EgyptCancer has afflicted humanity from pre-historic times though its prevalence has markedly increased in recent decades in unison with rapidly aging populations and, in the last halfcentury, the increasing risky health behavior in the general population and the increased presence of carcinogens in the environment and in consumer products. The oldest credible evidence of cancer in mammals consists of tumor masses found in fossilized dinosaurs and human bones from prehistoric times. Perhaps the most compelling evidence of cancer in dinosaurs emanates from a recent large-scale study that screened by fluoroscopy over 10,000 specimens of dinosaur vertebrae for evidence of tumors and further assessed abnormalities by computerized tomography (CT).

Contribution of Angiogenesis to Inflammation and Cancer

“…The association between inflammation and cancer is widely recognized. In 1863, Rudolf Virchow (3,4) reported that some tumors were infiltrated by inflammatory cells, leading to the hypothesis that inflammation is associated with cancer. In 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer established that infection with some pathogens, including Helicobacter pylori, human papillomavirus (VPH) variant 16, and Schistosoma haematobium, is associated with cancer.…”

Identification of clinically predictive metagenes that encode components of a network coupling cell shape to transcription by image-omics

“…Even before the definition of a gene existed, observations were made that cancer cells have a different shape from normal cells and that disruptions in tissue architecture were symptomatic of cancer-findings which still remain a foundation of cancer pathology (Fig. 1A;Faguet 2015). It is now clear that the expression of oncogenes, or loss of tumor suppressors, affects numerous transcriptional, epigenetic, and post-translational processes, and thus signaling states, to promote cancer cell survival, proliferation, and invasion, and ultimately changes in cell shape ( Fig.…”

The Role of Organic Synthesis in the Emergence and Development of Antibody–Drug Conjugates as Targeted Cancer Therapies

“…Before we continue on the path leading to the development of antibody-drug conjugates as clinical drugs,abrief historical overview of previous paradigms of cancer treatment is in order.T hus,i na ncient times Greek physicians such as Hippocrates of Kosa nd Galen of Pergamon attributed the occurrence of cancer to an excess of "black bile" in the patientsb ody. [11] Tu mors were either left untreated or surgically excised. [12] Thel atter practice was accompanied by an often soon-after relapse of the disease in cases where the tumor was not fully removed.…”