2007年VOA标准英语-Researchers Find Better Blood Test for Prostate

By Carol Pearson
Washington
01 May 2007
 

Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers for men in the developed world.  Some 400,000 new cases are likely to be diagnosed² this year in the United States and Europe, and close to 90,000 men are expected to die from the disease.  As men live longer in developing countries, the numbers of men getting this cancer are expected to increase.  VOA's Melinda Smith narrates³ this report on a new test to diagnose¹ prostate cancer.

Doctors urge men over 50 to have a yearly blood test for prostate specific antigen, or PSA.

High or rising levels of PSA are warning signs for prostate cancer. But the test is not always accurate, so many men undergo a painful second test, a biopsy of the prostate.

Professor Robert Getzenberg says there is just one problem. "Right now we're biopsing [performing biopsies on] about six men to find one that has prostate cancer.  So what we want to do is limit our focus on those that really do have the disease."

Besides false positives, PSA tests can also miss some cases of cancer.  The standard PSA blood test measures a chemical produced in the prostate. The new test measures a chemical made only by cancer cells in the prostate. Professor Getzenberg and his research team found that the new test was at least 94 percent accurate.

Larger clinical trials are planned that could make the new test available to the public in approximately a year and a half, something patient Jay Weiss would welcome. "I certainly did not look forward to the second biopsy, much less the third one."

Getzenberg said the test also can tell if the cancer is confined to the prostate or if it has spread.

1 diagnose   

vt.诊断，判断

参考例句：

• It provides a new method for early diagnose of breast cancer.为临床早期诊断乳腺癌提供一个新的检查手段。
• What more will you want to know to diagnose this problem?要弄清这个问题，你还需要知道些什么？

2 diagnosed   

诊断( diagnose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some foetal malformations cannot be diagnosed until late in pregnancy. 有些胎儿的畸形部位得等到妊娠后期才能诊断出来。
• He diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine to knock. 他找出了引擎咔咔响的毛病所在。

3 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网