Case of metastatic carcinoma from end of the 8th-early 9th century Slovakia

The first case of metastatic carcinoma ever detected in Slovakia comes from a Slavonic cemetery at Borovce, in the district of Piest'any, which is dated from the end of the 8th to the middle of the 12th century AD. The disease afflicted a 50-60-year-old male, buried in a grave from the older phase of inhumation (8th-early 9th century AD). A number of osteolytic metastases were found in all bones of the skull and postcranial skeleton except for the forearms, hands, lower legs, and feet. They were studied macroscopically by standard X-rays, and by scanning electron microscopy and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Analogous finds from Central European countries were also obtained. They are discussed in relation to their chronology, which shows a tendency of increasing occurrence culminating in the Middle Ages. Some demographic and paleopathological characteristics of the burials in the Borovce cemetery are also provided. (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.