Study: Napoleon's pants confirm cancer

BASEL, Switzerland, May 4 (UPI) -- Swiss researchers say a study of Napoleon Bonaparte's pants confirms official reports he contracted stomach cancer prior to his death at age 52.

Following the French emperor's death on St. Helena in the south Atlantic, where he had been banished after his defeat at Waterloo, an autopsy concluded he died of stomach cancer, but other theories have circulated, suggesting he was poisoned.

However, scientists at Switzerland's University Hospital in Basel and the Institute of Medical History at the University of Zurich now say a study of the emperor's trousers suggests he lost a great amount of weight, a major cancer symptom, prior his death, the BBC reported Wednesday.

The researchers examined 12 pairs of Napoleon's pants worn during his six years in exile.

The largest pants the emperor wore measured 43.31 inches around the waist, and those he wore just before his death measured 38.58 inches. The scientists said the loss of weight was consistent with measurements taken from living stomach cancer patients.

The team also said the presence of arsenic in Napoleon's hair, often cited by those forwarding the poisoning theory, resulted from a winemaking custom of drying casks and basins with arsenic.