2007年VOA标准英语-Magnetic Resonance Imaging Urged for Women at H

By Melinda Smith
Washington
30 March 2007
 

Since the mid-20th century the World Health Organization reports there has been an increase in the rate of breast cancer among women in developed countries.  For decades, doctors have urged their patients to do a routine self-exam and undergo a breast X-ray, known as a mammogram, every year after age 40.  Now cancer experts say the mammogram may not enough for those women who are at higher risk.  VOA's Melinda Smith has more on the latest recommendation for this special group of patients.

In the United States, an estimated 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year.  It is the second leading cause of cancer death among American women.

For the most part, yearly mammograms have helped diminish the death rate.  But a study published in the prestigious¹ New England Journal of Medicine concludes that Multiple Resonance² Imaging...known as the MRI...picks up signs of cancer that are sometimes missed by a mammogram or doctor's exam. 

Dr. July Gralow of the University of Washington Medical School says the findings are significant.

"Screening MRI offers incredible potential and we're excited about that potential," she said.

Image of (MRI imaging) breast

A recent diagnosis³ of cancer in one breast were studied with 969 women subjects.  Mammograms had not picked up abnormalities in the other breast.  But when the women underwent a MRI, cancer in the other breast was detected among 30 of those in the study and confirmed by a biopsy within one year.

The new guidelines apply to an estimated 1.4 million high-risk women in the United States.  That applies to those already diagnosed or whose mother or sisters have had breast or ovarian cancer.   Also included are women who had cancer in childhood and those identified as carrying the breast cancer gene⁴. 

Dr. Elmer Huerta of Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. acknowledges the recommendation may cause some anxiety, particularly among those women who find out they carry the genes⁵.

 “They are going to ask their doctors to have these BRCA-1 and BRCA-2 genes tested, and that's going to create positive things in the sense that we are going to learn a lot:  who is susceptible⁶, and who is not, but also may elicit⁷ some fears among the population," she said.  "What are you going to do if you are positive for these genes?"

Multiple Resonance Imaging is not perfect.  It has been known to produce false positives at a higher rate than mammography., but specialists, like Dr. Elizabeth Morris of New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, say the benefits are worth it.

"[The] MRI shows areas of abnormal blood flow that can represent early breast cancer. That's not seen on mammography," she said.

MRI's are expensive and not often available in many parts of the United States and around the world.  

 "Even here in the United States, we have 50-million people without health insurance and these people, they have no access--forget about an MRI, which costs up to $2,000 each," Dr. Elmer Huerta adds.

Dr. Huerta believes that women should still do what they can to detect cancer early:  that means practicing a monthly breast self-exam, going to the doctor for regular checkups and after age 40, get a yearly mammogram.

1 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

2 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。

3 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

4 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。

5 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

6 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

7 elicit   

v.引出,抽出,引起

参考例句：

• It was designed to elicit the best thinking within the government. 机构的设置是为了在政府内部集思广益。
• Don't try to elicit business secrets from me. I won't tell you anything. 你休想从我这里套问出我们的商业机密, 我什么都不会告诉你的。