2007年VOA标准英语-Drop in Breast Cancer Rate Tied to Drop in Horm

By Melinda Smith
Washington
16 August 2007
 

In 2002, a national study of millions of American women showed that taking hormone¹ replacement² therapy during menopause increases the risk of breast cancer, blood clots³ and strokes.  The news prompted many women to stop taking the medication.  Now another study has confirmed that when women stopped taking the hormone, breast cancer rates dropped. VOA's Melinda Smith has the latest.

The study -- published in the August issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute -- shows what happened when many women stopped taking Hormone Replacement Therapy, or HRT.  The results became apparent when millions of women went in for a yearly mammogram.

Dr. Karla Kerlikowske

Dr. Karla Kerlikowske authored the study. "If everybody's getting routinely screened, you'd expect cancer rates to be flat.  They shouldn't really change over time unless something happens in the population where risk factor changes."

At least 16,000 American women taking HRT had participated in a landmark⁴ study conducted over a period of years by the National Institutes of Health.  In 2002, that study was halted when a strong link was established between the hormone medication and breast cancer. 

Doctors and their patients got the message.  Use of Hormone Replacement Therapy -- a combination of estrogen and progestin -- dropped by 38 percent the following year. 

Now a new study by the National Cancer Institute reconfirms the effects of not taking the hormone medication. 

"We saw a drop in the agent that causes breast cancer, and with that a decline in invasive cancer, and importantly, estrogen receptive positive cancer," says Dr. Kerlikowske

The 13 percent drop in the breast cancer rate equates⁵ to about 17,000 fewer breast cancers diagnosed every year.  The research was based on at least 600,000 mammograms over a seven-year period of women aged⁶ 50 to 69.

While the latest study proves the relationship between the hormone use and breast cancer, Dr. Kerlikowske says it also poses more questions for the patients. "If you stop the hormones⁷, does that mean the tumors regress completely that they've promoted?  Does that mean they just stop growing or does that mean they're just growing more slowly, so you'll detect them later in time?"

While there has been a lot of research about breast cancer conducted already, women's health experts say this is the first study to tie everything together:  mammography, hormone therapy and breast cancer

1 hormone   

n.荷尔蒙，激素，内分泌

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters.激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。
• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body.这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。

2 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

3 clots   

n.凝块( clot的名词复数 )；血块；蠢人；傻瓜v.凝固( clot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• When you cut yourself, blood clots and forms a scab. 你割破了，血会凝固、结痂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Milk clots when it turns sour. 奶变酸就凝块。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

5 equates   

v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的第三人称单数 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• He equates success with material wealth. 他认为成功等同于物质财富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This equates to increased and vigor, better sleep and sharper mental acuity. 也就是说可以起到增强活力，改善睡眠，提高心智的作用。 来自互联网

6 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。

7 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。