VOA标准英语2009年-Studies Question Benefit from Prostate Cancer T

U.S. and European researchers say the leading test used to screen for prostate cancer may do more harm than good. The new studies are re-igniting debate over the aggressive treatments associated with prostate cancer.

For 20 years doctors have used the prostate-specific antigen test, better known as PSA, to screen for cancer in the walnut-sized prostate gland² in the male reproductive system. But controversy³ has surrounded the test and some doctors say it has led to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of prostate cancer, one of the most common types of cancer in men in the Western world.

In two interim⁴ studies to be published next week in the prominent New England Journal of Medicine, U.S. and European researchers found little to no benefit in PSA screening.

In a discussion on the journal's Web site, Dr. Philip Kantoff of Harvard Medical School, says there can be a downside to early treatment in a slow developing disease.

"When you use PSA, you diagnose prostate cancer, and the benefits of diagnosing that prostate cancer, generally, in its early form, are not seen for probably 10 to 15 years," he explained. "Yet the downside effects of PSA screening are immediate⁵ if a patient undergoes treatment."

According to Dr. Mary McNaughton-Collins, a researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, aggressive treatments can lead to side effects such as impotence, incontinence and even early death. She says the problem lies in not having the scientific advances to differentiate⁶ between tumors that do not need to be treated from the aggressive cancer that does.

"I think the onus⁷ is on us, to maintain that healthy skepticism about a screening program that's built on inconclusive data on whether or not we are helping⁸ more men than we're hurting," she said.

Kantoff agrees, saying much of the controversy would diminish if more doctors would separate detection from treatment. Prostate cancer is slow growing and if properly monitored, Kantoff says, for many patients it can be left alone.

Dr. McNaughton-Collins says physicians need to acknowledge the controversy and fully⁹ inform their patients of the tradeoffs.

"For men in my own practice, for some men the PSA decision is the right one," she said. "For many of my men, once they're fully informed, they decide to forgo¹⁰ the PSA test. And for those men, that is the right decision."

McNaughton-Collins points out that the U.S Preventive Services Task Force, which makes recommendations about health care screenings, concluded that the evidence is insufficient¹¹ to determine whether there are more pros¹ than cons¹² to prostate cancer screening in men younger than 75. They have, however, discouraged screening for men 75 years or older.

She says physicians need to consider their patient's preferences and make it a shared decision-making process on whether to forgo the test.

1 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 gland   

n.腺体，(机)密封压盖，填料盖

参考例句：

• This is a snake's poison gland.这就是蛇的毒腺。
• Her mother has an underactive adrenal gland.她的母亲肾上腺机能不全。

3 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

4 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

7 onus   

n.负担；责任

参考例句：

• The onus is on government departments to show cause why information cannot bedisclosed.政府部门有责任说明不能把信息公开的理由。
• The onus of proof lies with you.你有责任提供证据。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 forgo   

v.放弃，抛弃

参考例句：

• Time to prepare was a luxuary he would have to forgo.因为时间不够，他不得不放弃做准备工作。
• She would willingly forgo a birthday treat if only her warring parents would declare a truce.只要她的父母停止争吵，她愿意放弃生日宴请。

11 insufficient   

adj.(for，of)不足的，不够的

参考例句：

• There was insufficient evidence to convict him.没有足够证据给他定罪。
• In their day scientific knowledge was insufficient to settle the matter.在他们的时代，科学知识还不能足以解决这些问题。

12 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》