'There is nothing in the natural environment that can cause cancer. So it has to be a man-made disease, down to pollution and changes to our diet and lifestyle.
'The important thing about our study is that it gives a historical perspective to this disease. We can make very clear statements on the cancer rates in societies because we have a full overview. We have looked at millennia, not one hundred years, and have masses of data.
'Yet again extensive ancient Egyptian data, along with other data from across the millennia, has given modern society a clear message - cancer is man-made and something that we can and should address.
Dr Rachel Thompson, of World Cancer Research Fund, said: 'This research makes for very interesting reading.
'About one in three people in the UK will get cancer so it is fairly commonplace in the modern world.
Scientists now say a healthy diet, regular physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight can prevent about a third of the most common cancers so perhaps our ancestors' lifestyle reduced their risk from cancer.'
More at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1320507/Cancer-purely-man-say-scientists-finding-trace-disease-Egyptian-mummies.html
