Abstract
The oldest description of human cancer, referring to eight cases of tumors of the breast, was found in the Egyptian Edwin Smith Papyrus, written around 3000–1500 BC. The oldest specimens of human cancers were detected in the remains of a female skull dating back to the Bronze Age (1900–1600 BC), and in fossilized bones of ancient Egypt. The mummified skeletal remains of Peruvian Incas, dating about 2,400 years ago, contained lesions suggestive of malignant melanoma. The term “cancer” goes back to Hippocrates (460–370 BC), who named a group of diseases καρκινοσ and καρκινομα, the ancient Greek word for crab. It is a metaphor for the hard center and spiny projections of the tumors he studied. Cancer is the Latin word for crab and its use has been traced back to Galen (AD 129–199). A snapshot of theories of carcinogenesis, devised in the course of the last two centuries, reflects the progress of insight from the cellular level via biochemistry to an understanding of damaging influences and oncogenes, and to a more wholistic approach in the regulatory theory. It shows the relative success of reductionism as well as the current need to put the insights of various research endeavors into broader paradigmatic contexts.