Only a handful of possible cancer cases emerged after scientists analysed almost 1,000 remains from ancient Egypt and Greece.
They also found precious little reference made to the symptoms of cancer in ancient literature.
Researchers did for the first time identify cancer in one Egyptian mummy but it was the sole example in all they examined, proving the disease was very rare, said experts.
Title is misleading. People in ancient times were, on average, dying at an earlier age of other things. Many populations have controlled for death by accident, infection, etc … and are living long enough to be killed by cancer.