Hansen performed autopsies on eight mummies from Qilakitsoq, all dated to the 15th century, long before European contact . One was a woman aged ~50 y who had extensive destruction of the base of her skull, which according to Hansen was "most probably caused by a malignant tumour spreading in the bone." He further comments:
"The changes are identical to those which can be seen in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma. This cancer type is particularly frequent among people of Inuit origin in Greenland, Alaska and Canada....In fact, the current incidence is about 25 times greater in Greenlanders than in Danes. Presumably, a nasopharyngeal carcinoma was the cause of death in this woman."Hence, the low carbohydrate diet of precontact Inuit probably did not render them immune to cancer, contrary to the suggestions of Stefansson in Cancer: Disease of Civilization.