A team of Polish scientists said that the only known example of an embalmed pregnant Egyptian mummy died from nose cancer. Researchers at the Warsaw Mummy Project in Poland were carrying out a scan of the ancient corpse’s skull. During the research, they discovered unusual markings in the bone. It was similar to those found in patients suffering from nasopharyngeal cancer.
The scientists said that the Egyptian mummy, nicknamed the ‘Mysterious Lady’, most likely died of the same disease.
Nasopharyngeal cancer affects parts of the throat connecting the back of the nose to the back of the mouth.
Professor Rafał Stec from the Medical University of Warsaw’s Department of Oncology, who worked with experts at WMP told Archeologia, “We have unusual changes in the nasopharyngeal bones, which, according to the mummy experts, are not typical of the mummification process.”
Additionally, he said, “the opinions of radiologists based on computed tomography indicate the possibility of tumour changes in the bones.”
More about the mummy
As of now, the researchers are suspecting the woman had a malignant tumour. The only authentic diagnosis is a histopathological examination.
Scientists are planning to collect tissues and perform various analyzes at the Medical University of Warsaw. The cancer samples from ‘mysterious lady’ will be matched with the cancer samples from other Egyptian mummies.
This is not the first startling discovery made by Poland researchers, with respect to the mummy. Last year, in a journal article, experts announced that the mummy was pregnant and the foetus had been “pickled like a gherkin”.
They even held an examination using tomographic imaging, revealing that the woman was between 20-30 years old when she died. In addition to this, she was in her 26th to 30th week of pregnancy.