VOA慢速英语 新型基因治疗癌症法“精确”消灭目标

New Gene¹ Therapy 'Precisely²' Targets Cancer 新型基因治疗癌症法“精确”消灭目标

Cancer is one of the world’s most feared diseases, and with good reason: It’s the leading cause of death across the globe.

Every year, about 14 million people are diagnosed with cancer. That’s roughly the population of Los Angeles. Many are treated with powerful medicines, using chemotherapy. But the side effects can be as difficult as the disease. Others have surgery to combat the disease.

In the U.S., it is the leading cause of death for men and women aged³ 40- to 79-years-old, reports the American Cancer Society.

But a new therapy that works with an individual’s genes⁴ is on the horizon, says cancer expert William Nelson, M.D., Ph.D.

Nelson is director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. It is ranked as one of America’s top cancer research facilities, according to the National Cancer Institute. 

“Precision medicine” is a new field of medicine that works with an individual’s “variations in genes, environment and lifestyle,” reports the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH is a federal research center for medicine in Bethesda, Maryland.

It is a fast-growing area of medicine. Nelson said almost every U.S. hospital and health care center is promoting precision medicine as a service.

In addition, President Obama launched a national “Precision Medicine Initiative” in January this year. The U.S. government funded it with $215 million. The White House said the program will speed up medical discoveries and give doctors “new tools, knowledge and therapies.” This will tailor treatments to the individual.               

Precision medicine can be a powerful tool in cancer treatment. Nelson explained that cancer happens when genes behave abnormally. A process called “gene sequencing” can make a map of all the cells in the body. Researchers can find genes that have mutated. Mutated genes cause cancer.

Technology speeds up the process of mapping genes. Nelson said, “The microprocessor⁵ power is doubling every 18 months.”

This is an important change from the way cancer drugs were developed before. In the past, Nelson said, cancer drugs were discovered by experiments in a lab. For example, scientists might discover a plant in the Amazon rain forest and test it in a lab to see if it could kill cancer cells.

But only 4 percent to 5 percent of cancer drugs discovered this way had any meaningful benefit. In 15 years of cancer research, only 1-in-20 or 1-in-30 drugs proved to be helpful, according to the cancer expert.

“We weren’t getting where we needed to go fast enough,” Nelson told the audience.

Plus, it was expensive. The pharmaceutical⁶ companies were spending an average of $1 billion to $2 billion to create a new drug, and a lot of these new drugs simply didn’t work, according to Nelson.

But then in the late 1990s, the discovery of gene sequencing changed all that. Pharmaceutical companies began creating new cancer drugs to stop the specific gene mutations found in different cancers.

For example, Herceptin was developed in 1998 to treat breast cancer.            

Gloevec was developed to treat leukemia. 

“We’re in a business where we have to know what the gene mutations are to defeat them,” said Nelson.

As a result, there has been an “accelerating pace of anti-cancer drugs, discovery, development and approval,” continued Nelson.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves all new drugs in the U.S. The FDA approved 12 anti-cancer drugs in 2013, 10 in 2014 and eight so far in 2015. Compare that to only two anti-cancer drugs that were approved by the FDA from 2008 to 2012.

Nelson said a new drug called nivolumab may recognize gene defects in each individual and unleash⁸ the immune system to attack the cancer.

“The gene test will ultimately save insurers money, because this will lead to a more efficient, targeted approach to cancer treatment,” concluded Nelson. 

Words in This Story

revolutionize – v. to change (something) very much or completely : to cause a revolution in (something)

makeup⁹ – n. the way in which something is put together or arranged 

innovations – n. the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods

chemotherapy – n.  the use of chemicals to treat or control a disease (such as cancer)

surgery – n. medical treatment in which a doctor cuts into someone's body in order to repair or remove damaged or diseased parts

tailored – v. to make (clothing that is measured to fit a particular person)

variations – n. a change in the form, position, condition, or amount of something

therapies – n. the treatment of physical or mental illnesses

mutated – v. to cause (a gene) to change and create an unusual characteristic in a plant or animal : to cause mutation⁷ in (a gene)

microprocessor – n.  the device in a computer that manages information and controls what the computer does

pharmaceutical – adj.  of or relating to the production and sale of drugs and medicine

accelerating – v.  to move faster : to gain speed

unleash – v. to allow or cause (something very powerful) to happen suddenly 

immune- adj.  of or relating to the body's immune system or protection from disease

1 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

2 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

3 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

4 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

5 microprocessor   

n.微信息处理机

参考例句：

• I've got a typerwriter with a microprocessor.我有一台装有微处理机的打字机。
• I decided to write a program for a microprocessor.我决定为微处理机编制一套程序。

6 pharmaceutical   

adj.药学的，药物的；药用的，药剂师的

参考例句：

• She has donated money to establish a pharmaceutical laboratory.她捐款成立了一个药剂实验室。
• We are engaged in a legal tussle with a large pharmaceutical company.我们正同一家大制药公司闹法律纠纷。

7 mutation   

n.变化，变异，转变

参考例句：

• People who have this mutation need less sleep than others.有这种突变的人需要的睡眠比其他人少。
• So far the discussion has centered entirely around mutation in the strict sense.到目前为止，严格来讲，讨论完全集中于围绕突变问题上。

8 unleash   

vt.发泄，发出；解带子放开

参考例句：

• They hope to create allies to unleash against diseases,pests,and invasive species.他们希望创造出一些新群体来对付疾病、害虫和一些有侵害性的物种。
• Changing water levels now at times unleash a miasma of disease from exposed sewage.如今，大坝不时地改变水位，从暴露的污水释放出了疾病瘴气。

9 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？