VOA标准英语2010年-Gold is Hottest Thing in Cancer Treatm

Scientists are putting a modern spin on a cancer treatment that goes back to antiquity¹. It's heat therapy, which is getting a new look with the help of microscopic² particles of gold.

Cancer treatments usually involve powerful drugs or radiation. But heating up the tumor³ — hyperthermia — can also be part of the therapy.

 

"Hyperthermia is an old technology ... first recorded in papyrus⁴ by the Egyptians, I believe. It's the first known treatment of breast cancer," says Jeffrey Rosen of the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.

"The idea is that as you raise temperature, you induce a heat shock in cells, and that this makes them more susceptible⁵ to the damage caused by chemotherapy and radiation."

Rosen has just published new research on how some new materials can help harness the potential of hyperthermia for cancer treatment.

One problem in using heat against cancers is that it can damage surrounding, healthy tissue. Rosen says that microscopic particles of gold — nanoparticles — can be injected into the body to make sure the heat gets to the right place.

"The gold nanoparticles have this ability to be activated⁶ by near-infrared lasers so that they can be heated quite rapidly," he says.

And Rosen adds that the nanoparticles travel to where they're needed, to the cancer, so the healthy tissue doesn't get heated up.

"You'll have those gold nanoparticles actually accumulating in the leaky blood vessels⁷ of the tumor, and then the laser can be used locally just to heat that area."

In this study, the tumor was heated to 42 degrees for 20 minutes. The actual target was breast cancer stem cells, the cells from which cancers grow and metastasize, and which tend to resist drug and radiation treatments.

Rosen says tests using laboratory mice suggest the heat treatments may be an effective way of augmenting⁸ radiation or chemotherapy for patients with some kinds of tumors, including breast cancer. But he cautions that it should not be considered a "magic bullet" in the fight against cancer.

"We think this is a proof of principle, that this type of approach will work, but it's a bit like the gene⁹ therapy field was maybe 15 years ago — we're going to have to still target to the right cells and the right place."

Baylor College of Medicine researcher Jeffrey Rosen's paper is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
 

1 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。

2 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

3 tumor   

n.（肿）瘤，肿块(英)tumour

参考例句：

• He was died of a malignant tumor.他死于恶性肿瘤。
• The surgeons irradiated the tumor.外科医生用X射线照射那个肿瘤。

4 papyrus   

n.古以纸草制成之纸

参考例句：

• The Egyptians wrote on papyrus.埃及人书写用薄草纸。
• Since papyrus dries up and crumble,very few documents of ancient Egypt have survived.因草片会干裂成粉末所以古埃及的文件很少保存下来。

5 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

6 activated   

adj. 激活的 动词activate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The canister is filled with activated charcoal.蒸气回收罐中充满了活性炭。

7 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 augmenting   

使扩张

参考例句：

• My business was now constantly augmenting, and my circumstances growing daily easier. 现在，我的业务不断扩大，我的境况日益安逸。
• I spent a penitential weekend augmenting the green acceptable. 我临时唯有利用周末在每顶绿帽子上加一点红色上去，以免男性来宾不肯戴上。

9 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。