HEALTH REPORT - Studies Support Wider Use of a Drug for Some

HEALTH REPORT - Studies Support Wider Use of a Drug for Some Breast¹ Cancers
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Wednesday, October 26, 2005

I'm Shep O'Neal with the VOA Special English Health Report.

Three studies show that a drug used to treat an aggressive² form of breast cancer after it has spread also can treat it earlier.

 
The drug Herceptin
Results of the studies involving the drug Herceptin have been published in the New England Journal³ of Medicine. They show that in some cases it cut by about fifty percent the chance that the cancer would reappear.

The drug targets the kind of breast cancer known⁴ as H.E.R. two, or HER-two, positive. Women who produce too much of the HER-two protein have a cancer that is especially fast-growing.

Researchers say about fifteen to twenty-five percent of women with breast cancer have this kind. Doctors can remove the cancer, but it is more likely than others to return.

More than eight thousand women took part in the studies in Europe and North America. All had early HER-two positive breast cancer.

The European study followed the progress of women for up to two years. The researchers say the cancer returned in twenty-three percent of those not receiving Herceptin. Only fourteen percent of the women who received the drug experienced⁵ a return of the cancer.

The other two studies involved women who were treated with an operation, chemotherapy drugs and, in some cases, Herceptin. Thirty-three percent of the women who did not receive Herceptin had their cancer return within four years. This happened to only fifteen percent of those treated with Herceptin.

Herceptin is an antibody that attaches⁶ itself to the HER-two gene⁷ on cancerous growths⁸. It slows or stops the cancer from growing. Treatment must continue for one year. It costs about forty-eight thousand dollars.

The studies showed possible heart-related risks. About four percent of the women who took Herceptin along with other drugs suffered serious heart problems. The rate was only about half of one percent when patients took Herceptin within one year of completing other drug treatment.

The researchers are not sure why these heart problems appeared. They say more and longer studies are needed to answer this and other questions about the drug. American doctors are being urged⁹ to treat early HER-two breast cancer with Herceptin. But some say it will take years to prove that these results can be repeated with all HER-two breast cancer patients.

This VOA Special English Health Report was written by Nancy Steinbach. Our reports are online at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Shep O'Neal.

1 breast   

n.胸部；胸怀

参考例句：

• The coat is too tight at the breast.这件衣服胸部太紧了。
• He was wearing a nameplate on his left breast.他左胸前佩带着一张名牌。

2 aggressive   

adj.侵略的，好斗的；敢作敢为的

参考例句：

• You'd better keep the two aggressive boys apart.你最好把那两个好斗的男孩分开。
• These fish are very aggressive.这些鱼极具攻击性。

3 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

4 known   

adj.大家知道的；知名的，已知的

参考例句：

• He is a known artist.他是一个知名的艺术家。
• He is known both as a painter and as a statesman.他是知名的画家及政治家。

5 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

6 attaches   

贴上，系，附上( attach的第三人称单数 )； （有时不受欢迎或未受邀请而）参加； 把…固定； 把…归因于

参考例句：

• Mother attaches a great deal of value to good manners. 妈妈很重视礼貌。
• No suspicion attaches to him. 他无可怀疑。

7 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。

8 growths   

n.生长( growth的名词复数 )；增加；生长物；经济增长

参考例句：

• Nails are thin horny growths at the ends of the fingers. 指甲是生长在手指头尖端的细薄角质物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Crown galls are cancerous growths composed of disorganized and proliferating plant cells. 冠瘿是无组织的正在不断增殖的植物细胞所组成的癌状物。 来自辞典例句

9 urged   

v.力劝( urge的过去式和过去分词 )；强烈要求；推进；驱策

参考例句：

• She urged him to stay. 她力劝他留下。
• Urged on by the PM the police tried to end the strike. 在首相的敦促下，警方力图终止罢工。 来自《简明英汉词典》