Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Mar 1;5(3):425-426.
doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2018.6766.

Triassic Cancer-Osteosarcoma in a 240-Million-Year-Old Stem-Turtle

Yara Haridy  1 , Florian Witzmann  1 , Patrick Asbach  2 , Rainer R Schoch  3 , Nadia Fröbisch  1 , Bruce M Rothschild  4
Affiliations

Triassic Cancer-Osteosarcoma in a 240-Million-Year-Old Stem-Turtle

Yara Haridy et al. JAMA Oncol. .

Abstract

This case study documents osteosarcoma in 240-million-year-old stem-turtle, which suggests that cancer is not a modern physiological defect.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Fröbisch reports nonfinancial support from Museum für Naturkunde and grants from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft during the conduct of the study. No other disclosures were reported.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Morphology of Osteosarcoma on Fossil Stem-Turtle Femur
A micro-computed tomography scan shows the undisturbed cortical bone and the extent of the periosteal mass (circled area). CB indicates cortical bone; OS, osteosarcoma; SP, spicular outgrowth. The black scale bar represents 1 cm.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Micro-computed Tomography (CT) Virtual Thin Sections of Osteosarcoma on Triassic Stem-Turtle Femur
A, The red lines represent the locations of the thin sections shown in panels B and C. The white scale bars on panels B and C represent 1 mm. CB indicates cortical bone; MC, medullary cavity; OS, osteosarcoma.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jones KB. Osteosarcomagenesis: modeling cancer initiation in the mouse. Sarcoma. 2011;2011:694136. doi:10.1155/2011/694136 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tian X, Azpurua J, Hine C, et al. . High-molecular-mass hyaluronan mediates the cancer resistance of the naked mole rat. Nature. 2013;499(7458):346-349. doi:10.1038/nature12234 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. de Souza Barbosa FH, Gomez da Costa PVL, Bergqvist LP, Rothschild BM. Multiple neoplasms in a single sauropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Brazil. Cretac Res. 2016;62:13-17. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.01.010 - DOI
    1. Schoch RR, Sues HD. Osteology of the Middle Triassic stem-turtle Pappochelys rosinae and the early evolution of the turtle skeleton. J Syst Palaeontology. 2018;16(11):927-965. doi:10.1080/14772019.2017.1354936 - DOI
    1. Yarmish G, Klein MJ, Landa J, Lefkowitz RA, Hwang S. Imaging characteristics of primary osteosarcoma: nonconventional subtypes. Radiographics. 2010;30(6):1653-1672. doi:10.1148/rg.306105524 - DOI - PubMed