The Ancient History of Cancer: From Fossils to Modern Medicine

Cancer isn’t a modern disease – it’s an ancient biological phenomenon that has existed for hundreds of millions of years. In this episode, we trace cancer’s origins from the dawn of multicellular life, explore how it affected ancient animals and break down the major scientific and medical advances that shaped modern cancer research. We’re joined by Dr Roselyn Campbell, bioarchaeologist and Egyptologist at Purdue University. She explains how scientists identify tumours in archaeological remains and what living with cancer might have been like in ancient societies. What you’ll learn in this episode: How cancer first emerged in early multicellular life What ancient animal fossils reveal about the history of cancer How past civilisations like Ancient Egypt understood, described, and attempted to treat cancer The key discoveries that unlocked cancer’s biology The major treatment milestones – from surgery to radiation to chemotherapy How imaging technologies revolutionised diagnosis How genomics and targeted therapies reshaped modern cancer care For more cancer stories visit Cancer News ! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You can listen to The Ancient History of Cancer: From Fossils to Modern Medicine online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Ancient History of Cancer: From Fossils to Modern Medicine is an episode from Cancer Research UK.

This episode is 43:48 long.

This episode was published on Mar 5, 2026.

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