New Blood Test Finds Deadly Skin Cancer(原文链接)

By Anna Matteo  27 August, 2018

安娜马特奥 2018年8月27日

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 来自美国之音英语学习频道，健康与生活方式报告。

Scientists in Australia say they have developed the world's first blood test to find a deadly skin cancer in its early stages. They say the test could save thousands of lives each year.澳大利亚科学家称，他们已经开展了世界上第一次血液检测，以便在早期发现致命的皮肤癌。他们说，这项测试每年可以挽救数千人的生命。

Currently, to check for all kinds of skin cancers, doctors examine or remove a small piece of patients' skin. But researchers say the new blood test can detect one of the deadliest kinds of skin cancer, melanoma, sooner than other methods.

目前，为了检查各种皮肤癌，医生会检测或切取患者的一小块皮肤。现在研究人员表示，新的血液检测可以比其他方法更快地检测出最致命的皮肤癌，黑色素瘤。

In a trial involving about 200 people, the blood test found early stages of melanoma in more than 80 percent of cases.在一项涵盖约200人作为样本的试验中，血液检查在超过80％病例中发生早期阶段的黑色素瘤。

Professor Mel Ziman is the leader of the Melanoma Research Group at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia. Her group conducted this trial.Mel Ziman教授是西澳大利亚珀斯Edith Cowan大学黑色素瘤研究小组的负责人。她的团队主导了这次试验。

"If a thin melanoma is identified early and it's removed, you have a 98 to 99 percent chance of five to ten years survival."“如果在早期，就能识别出一个小的黑色素瘤并且切除，那么你5-10生存率的可能性大概有98％-99％。”

Researchers explain that the sooner doctors find melanoma, the better. They say that if a thin melanoma is identified early and removed, patients have a 98 to 99 percent chance of surviving for the next five to ten years.研究人员解释说，医生能越早发现黑色素瘤，效果越好。他们说，如果早期发现并清除了一个小黑色素瘤，患者在接下来的五到十年内有98％到99％的存活率。

However, survival rates from melanoma drop sharply if the skin cancer is in later stages and has spread to other organs.然而，如果皮肤癌处于后期阶段并且已经扩散到其他器官，则黑色素瘤的存活率急剧下降。

What is melanoma? 什么是黑色素瘤？

The World Health Organization says about 132,000 people are diagnosed with melanoma every year. Australia and New Zealand have the highest rates.世界卫生组织表示，每年约有132,000人确诊黑色素瘤，澳大利亚和新西兰比例最高。

The website for the Melanoma Institute Australia says that in 2014, more than 1,400 Australians died from melanoma. And in 2017, that number rose to more than 1,800.澳大利亚黑色素瘤研究所的网站称，2014年，超过1,400名澳大利亚人死于黑色素瘤。而在2017年，这个数字已经上升到1,800多个。

How do we get melanoma?人们为什么会患黑色素瘤

We get melanoma mainly by exposure to ultraviolet radiation. Patients often have had a lot of exposure to the sun and a history of sunburn. 大多数人是因为暴露于紫外线辐射，而患黑色素瘤。患者通常暴露在阳光下并有晒伤史。

On its website, the WHO says decreasing ozone levels is making the problem worse. The site adds that "as the atmosphere loses more and more of its protective filter ... and more solar UV radiation reaches the Earth's surface, more people will get skin cancer."世界卫生组织在官网宣称：大气臭氧层破坏，使情况变得更糟。后又补充说，“随着大气层失去越来越多的保护性过滤器......更多的太阳紫外线辐射到达地球表面，更多人将患上皮肤癌。”

How does the blood test work? 验血如何运作？

The new blood test works by detecting something called auto-antibodies. The website for the National Cancer Institute in the United States defines auto-antibody as an antibody made against substances formed by a person's own body. The body naturally forms auto-antibodies when cancerous cells start to appear.新的血液检测通过检测称为“自身抗体”的东西起作用。美国国家癌症研究所的网站将自身抗体定义为，针对人体自身形成的物质的抗体。当癌细胞开始出现时，身体自然形成自身抗体。

In a statement to the press, Ziman explains that with melanoma, the human body makes these auto-antibodies very early. She says the new blood test takes advantage of that fact. However, she warns, "melanoma is very hard to diagnose." 在新闻发布会上，齐曼声明，对于黑色素瘤，人体很早就会产生这些自身抗体。新的血液测试正式运用了这个原理。然而，她警告说，“黑色素瘤仍然很难被诊断出来。”

Researchers are planning more tests for the Australian blood test. They say they hope to improve its accuracy to 90 percent. The blood test could be available within five years.研究人员正计划对澳大利亚血液检测进行更多测试。他们希望将其准确度提高到90％。血液检测可在五年内完成。

Researchers have said the test will not detect other types of skin cancers. It will only find melanoma.同时研究人员表示，该测试对发现其他类型的皮肤癌并没有帮助，它只能帮助检测黑色素瘤。

Other health experts say the results of the trial should be considered with care. They urge people to keep checking their skin for early signs of skin cancer.其他健康专家表示，应谨慎考虑试验结果。他们敦促人们不断检查皮肤是否有皮肤癌的早期迹象。

Ziman says she hopes the new blood test will lead to more people checking their skin. She says that if the new blood test is available at a person's yearly check-up, patients might get skin examinations more often. And more examinations might lead to more early detections of melanoma.齐曼说，她希望新的血液检测将引起更多人的重视，检测皮肤。她说，如果将新的血液检查方式列入个人年度体检清单，患者很可能会更频繁地进行皮肤检查。更多的检查可能会帮助更早发现黑色素瘤。“

"So that's what we are hoping to achieve is that people will feel more comfortable going for skin checks. So, it will just up the number of people that are aware and able to get their melanoma identified earlier."因此，我们希望实现的目标是，人们可以以更加舒服的方式，进行皮肤检查。因此，意识到并能够更早检测识别黑素瘤的人数未来将会增加。”

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.

Phil Mercer reported this story for VOA News in Sydney. Anna Matteo adapted it for Learning English, using other news articles as well as several health and cancer-related websites. Kelly Jean Kelly was the editor.

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Words in This Story

detect – v. to discover or notice the presence of (something that is hidden or hard to see, hear, taste, etc.)检测 - 发现或注意到（隐藏或难以看到，听到，品尝等的东西）的存在

trial – n. a test of the quality, value, or usefulness of something审判 - n。对某事物的质量，价值或有用性的测试

diagnose – v. to recognize a disease, illness, etc., in (someone)诊断 - 与某人一起识别疾病，疾病等

ultraviolent – adj. used to describe rays of light that cannot be seen and that are slightly shorter than the rays of violet light紫外线 - adj。用于描述无法看到的光线，比紫光线条略短

radiation – n. energy that comes from a source in the form of waves or rays you cannot see辐射 - n。来自波源或射线形式的光源，你看不到的能量

ozone – n. a form of oxygen that is found in a layer high in the earth's臭氧 - n.一种在地球高层中发现的氧气

take advantage of – verbal phrase to use to advantage : profit by 利用 ；利润

accuracy – n. freedom from mistake or error准确性 - n.免于错误或错误