VOA慢速英语2019--美国癌症死亡率迎有史以来最大年度降幅（在线收听）

Researchers have reported the largest-ever single-year drop in cancer death rates in the United States.

研究人员报告了美国癌症死亡率有史以来单一年度最大降幅。

The rate of deaths from cancer fell 2.2 percent from 2016 to 2017. That is the largest drop since record-keeping began in 1930.

2016年到2017年，癌症死亡率下降了2.2%。这是自1930年有记录以来的最大降幅。

The information comes from a new report by the American Cancer Society. The group announced the report's findings Wednesday.

这些信息来自美国癌症协会的一份新报告。该组织周三公布了这份报告的调查结果。

The Cancer Society says that overall death rates from cancer have fallen about 1.5 percent each year since 1991. Better treatments for lung cancer are part of the reason for the falling numbers, said Rebecca Siegel. She was the lead writer of the report.

癌症协会表示，自1991年以来，癌症的总死亡率每年下降约1.5%。丽贝卡·西格尔(Rebecca Siegel)指出，肺癌治疗方式的改善是死亡率下降的部分原因。她是该报告的主要作者。

"Lung cancer has been the most common cause of cancer death in the United States, and now...we have better therapies for our patients and ... patients are living longer and better than ever before."

“肺癌是美国最常见的癌症死亡原因，现在……我们有更有效的方法治疗病人，让他们存活时间更长、状态更佳。”

If deaths from lung cancer were not counted, the 2017 rate drop would only be 1.4 percent, Siegel added.

西格尔补充说，如果排除因肺癌死亡的人数，2017年的死亡下降率将只有1.4%。

In addition to better treatments, fewer people are getting lung cancer because fewer people are smoking.

除了更有效的治疗方法，肺癌患者越来越少，因为吸烟的人日益减少。

Improved treatments for lung cancer include the areas of surgery, scanning, and use of radiation.

改进后的肺癌治疗方法包括手术、扫描和放射治疗。

There are also better drugs. Genetic testing helps doctors choose the right drugs for the kind of cancer in a patient.

更有效的药物也是原因之一。基因检测帮助医生为病人选择合适的癌症药物。

Doctor Jyoti Patel is a lung cancer expert with Northwestern University in Illinois.

乔蒂·帕特尔(Jyoti Patel)医生是伊利诺斯州西北大学的肺癌专家。

She said new drugs that get the patient's own immune system to fight the cancer could help make the death rate fall even more.

她表示，让患者自身免疫系统对抗癌症的新药可能有助于进一步降低死亡率。

American Cancer Society researchers also found a large decrease in the death rate from melanoma, a kind of skin cancer. It has fallen by 7 percent a year recently. The decrease is largely because of new drugs that became available about nine years ago.

美国癌症协会的研究人员还发现，黑色素瘤(一种皮肤癌)的死亡率也大幅下降。最近一年下降了7%。下降的主要原因归功于约9年前问世的新药。

There are differences in cancer rates among racial and ethnic groups in the United States. African Americans have for many years had higher rates of cancer than white Americans. However, that gap is shrinking. Hispanic Americans have generally had the lowest cancer rates.

在美国，不同种族和民族之间的癌症发病率存在差异。多年来，非裔美国人的癌症发病率一直高于白人。然而，这一差距正在缩小。西班牙裔美国人通常是癌症发病率最低的。

Words in This Story

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

scan – v. to look at the inside of (something) by using a special machine

immune system – n. the system that protects your body from diseases and infections

hepatitis – n. a serious disease of the liver that causes fever and makes your skin and eyes yellow