Soft tissue tumors in palaeopathology: a review

Abstract

Objective: To perform a review of soft tissue tumors in palaeopathology.

Methods: Examination of palaeopathological literature.

Results: Up to now, observations of neoplastic soft tissue lesions in mummified remains are limited to 15 cases, and only 4 of them present malignancies; 14 cases of calcified benign tumors, including 13 neoplasms of the female reproductive system and 1 teratoma, are also documented.

Conclusions: The main reasons for the rarity of soft tissue tumors in palaeopathology, especially of malignancies, are apparently the short life span of past populations, the scarcity of mummified remains available in comparison with skeletal remains, and technical difficulties in the detection of neoplastic lesions in mummified tissues.