VOA慢速英语2016--阿司匹林可以减少癌症死亡

Aspirin¹ May Cut Cancer Deaths 阿司匹林可以减少癌症死亡

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” is a popular expression in the United States.

It may be a common saying, but it is not scientifically confirmed. However, a new study adds to evidence that suggests taking a small amount of aspirin can help to keep the doctor away.

Researchers have known for some time that a small daily dose of aspirin can be good for your health. Aspirin can lessen² the risk of developing heart disease and even colon³ cancer.

New findings suggest the painkiller⁴ may also increase survival in cancer patients by up to 20 percent. That is, if those patients are receiving chemotherapy as a cancer treatment. Chemotherapy uses drugs to destroy cancer cells.

Peter Elwood is with Cardiff University's School of Medicine in Britain. Forty years ago, he was involved in the first study to explore the effects of aspirin in the prevention of heart disease.

Elwood's team examined 47 studies for evidence that aspirin helped cancer patients. And they found some.

"And there's fairly consistent evidence of a 15 to 20 percent reduction in death and a reduction in metastatic spread, by low dose aspirin."

By low dose, he means 81 milligrams.

The study followed cancer patients for five years.

Elwood says the evidence is strongest that aspirin delays death among colorectal cancer patients. His team found that aspirin also helped people being treated for breast and prostate cancer.

The reason appears to be the chemical salicylate. Elwood says many people have small amounts of salicylate in the body.

In about 20 percent of patients, researchers have found a genetic⁷ mutation⁸ that may interact with the chemical. The mutation is known as PIK3CA. This change in the structure of genetic material could explain the reduction in colon cancer.

Elwood says he was excited with the study’s findings. He adds that it is not a cure but a small sign of better things to come, what he calls a glimmer⁹ of hope and encouragement.

"Well, I feel very gratified because given the diagnosis¹⁰ of cancer. It's not a cure but it's a glimmer of hope and encouragement to them. So, I am thrilled to have this evidence from the study."

Elwood says that if doctors told him he had cancer, he would not delay in taking aspirin once a day. But he says that decision is up to the individual.

"If you asked me personally what I would do if I had a diagnosis of cancer, I would say I would have no hesitation¹¹ in taking it. But I do not recommend it to people. I want them to have the evidence and take (make) their own decision."

The only major risk is that aspirin can cause stomach bleeding. But Elwood says it is usually does not cause death. He adds that the evidence points to big health benefits of taking a daily aspirin. So, for some people, the pros⁶ might outweigh¹² the cons⁵.

Elwood and his team published the findings in the journal PLoS One.

Words in This Story

chemotherapy medical : the use of chemicals to treat or control a disease, such as cancer

metastatic medical : the spread of a disease, such as cancer cells, to other parts of the body

dose medical : the amount of a medicine taken at one time

colorectal medical : relating to the lower part of the large intestine¹³, colon and rectum

glimmer of hope phrase : a very small sign that something might improve or succeed

encouragement – n. giving praise or positive comment

thrilled – v. very excited or happy?

hesitate – v. to stop briefly before you do something

pros might outweigh the cons – phrase : there are more good things that might happen than bad

1 aspirin   

n.阿司匹林

参考例句：

• The aspirin seems to quiet the headache.阿司匹林似乎使头痛减轻了。
• She went into a chemist's and bought some aspirin.她进了一家药店，买了些阿司匹林。

2 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

3 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

4 painkiller   

n.止痛药

参考例句：

• I shall persuade him to take the painkiller.我将说服他把药吃下去。
• The painkiller only provides him a short respite from his pain.止痛药仅仅让他在疼痛中有短暂的疏解。

5 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

8 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。

9 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

10 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。

11 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

12 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。

13 intestine   

adj.内部的；国内的；n.肠

参考例句：

• This vitamin is absorbed through the walls of the small intestine.这种维生素通过小肠壁被吸收。
• The service productivity is the function,including external efficiency,intestine efficiency and capacity efficiency.服务业的生产率是一个包含有外部效率、内部效率和能力效率的函数。