科學(xué)家們說(shuō)，有一種新型血液檢查常在患者表現(xiàn)出任何征兆或癥狀前就能檢測(cè)出50多種癌癥。專(zhuān)家們希望，當(dāng)腫瘤仍處于易被醫(yī)治或能被完全治愈的階段時(shí)，這項(xiàng)檢查可幫助醫(yī)生們提前診斷出腫瘤的存在。

Doctors already have ways to screen for cancer, but a single blood test that could check for lots of different tumours simultaneously would be revolutionary. That's what researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, along with UK colleagues from the Francis Crick Institute and University College London, are working on.

醫(yī)生已經(jīng)有了篩查癌癥的方法，但一項(xiàng)可同時(shí)檢測(cè)出多種不同腫瘤的血液檢查將是革命性的創(chuàng)新。這是丹娜法伯癌癥研究所（Dana-Farber Cancer Institute）、哈佛醫(yī)學(xué)院（Harvard Medical School）的研究人員，以及來(lái)自英國(guó)弗朗西斯·克里克研究所（Francis Crick Institute）及倫敦大學(xué)學(xué)院（University College London）的同事們正在進(jìn)行的研究。

Their test looks for chemical changes to bits of genetic code that leak from tumours into the bloodstream. The patterns detected can predict whether a cancer is probably present and what type it is.

他們的測(cè)試尋找從腫瘤中泄漏到血流中的零星的遺傳密碼的化學(xué)變化。檢測(cè)出的基因表達(dá)模式可預(yù)測(cè)人體內(nèi)是否可能存在一種癌癥，以及它是什么類(lèi)型。

In trials with thousands of patients, the test was able to do this for more than 50 types of cancer, including lung and bowel, even when the person had no symptoms. It gave a correct positive result almost every time, but it did miss some cancers that were there, especially early ones.

在對(duì)數(shù)千名患者的測(cè)試中，即使受測(cè)者無(wú)任何癥狀，這項(xiàng)測(cè)試也能檢測(cè)出超過(guò)50種癌癥，包括肺癌和腸癌。測(cè)試幾乎每次都給出了正確的陽(yáng)性結(jié)果，但也確實(shí)漏掉了一些已存在于患者體內(nèi)的癌癥，特別是早期的癌癥。

Experts say more studies are needed before the test can be rolled out for general use.

專(zhuān)家們表示，在這項(xiàng)測(cè)試可以被推廣到普遍應(yīng)用之前，仍需進(jìn)行更多的研究。

詞匯

screen 篩查，測(cè)試
blood test 血液檢查
tumours 腫瘤
chemical changes 化學(xué)變化
genetic code 遺傳密碼
bloodstream 血流
patterns 模式
present 存在的
trials 試驗(yàn)
symptoms 癥狀
rolled out 被推廣，被實(shí)行

閱讀理解：請(qǐng)?jiān)谧x完上文后，回答下列問(wèn)題 。

1. True or false? Currently, there aren’t ways to help doctors to test whether a patient has cancer.

2. What does the blood test look for in a patient?

3. In the trials, how many types of cancer was the test able to check for?

4. How accurate was the test during the trials?

答案

1. True or false? Currently, there aren’t ways to help doctors to test whether a patient has cancer.
False. Doctors already have ways to screen for cancer. 

2. What does the blood test look for in a patient? 
The blood test looks for chemical changes to bits of genetic code that leak from tumours into the bloodstream.

3. In the trials, how many types of cancer was the test able to check for?
The test was able to check for more than 50 types of cancer. 

4. How accurate was the test during the trials?
It gave a correct positive result almost every time, but it did miss some cancers that were there, especially early ones.