VOA标准英语2011--Vaccine Attacks Breast Cancer in Mice

Vaccine¹ Attacks Breast Cancer in Mice

Scientists have developed a vaccine which reduces breast cancer tumors in mice. The researchers say it may work against a number of other cancers, too, if it works in humans.

Vaccines³ boost the body's immune system to fight off a foreign invader⁴. That makes sense if the invader really is foreign - like influenza⁵ or malaria⁶. But Mayo Clinic researcher Sandra Gendler notes that cancers are a home-grown threat - our bodies’ own cells run amok - not an alien virus.

"That's one of the major problems, is that we are tolerant to many of our cancers, and it is difficult to break that tolerance⁷."

So Gendler and her colleagues are focusing on a vaccine based on a protein called MUC1 that occurs on the surface of various kinds of tumors.

"One of the advantages of a MUC1 vaccine is that virtually all solid tumors express it: breast cancer, lung cancer, colon⁸ cancer, ovarian cancer, bladder cancer, multiple myeloma, some lymphomas. It has really wide applicability," she said.

Researchers at the University of Georgia, led by Geert-Jan Boons⁹, developed a vaccine based on MUC1 that was tested on special mice that Gendler developed. Her mice produce human MUC1 on tumors, making it a more realistic test for the experimental vaccine.

In the lab, the mice were vaccinated¹⁰, then injected with breast cancer cells.

"We then monitor for the tumor² growth," Gendler said, "and we found that the animals had a large decrease in the tumor growth, about a 75-80 percent decrease in their tumor growth."

So, much smaller tumors compared with the control group of non-vaccinated mice.

If this turns out to be an effective vaccine in humans, Gendler says it might be used to help reduce the risk of cancer before it develops, for example, in women with a high risk of breast cancer. It might also be used alongside existing treatments after diagnosis¹¹, particularly for a fast-moving disease like pancreatic cancer.

Gendler, whose research is published online by the Proceedings¹² of the National Academy of Sciences, says human tests might begin as soon as about two years from now.

1 vaccine   

n.牛痘苗，疫苗；adj.牛痘的，疫苗的

参考例句：

• The polio vaccine has saved millions of lives.脊髓灰质炎疫苗挽救了数以百万计的生命。
• She takes a vaccine against influenza every fall.她每年秋季接种流感疫苗。

2 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。

3 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

4 invader   

n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者

参考例句：

• They suffered a lot under the invader's heel.在侵略者的铁蹄下，他们受尽了奴役。
• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。

5 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。

6 malaria   

n.疟疾

参考例句：

• He had frequent attacks of malaria.他常患疟疾。
• Malaria is a kind of serious malady.疟疾是一种严重的疾病。

7 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

8 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

9 boons   

n.恩惠( boon的名词复数 )；福利；非常有用的东西；益处

参考例句：

• Set against this are some less tangible but still worthwhile boons. 此外，还有一些优惠虽不这么实际，但也值得一看。 来自互联网

10 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

11 diagnosis   

n.诊断，诊断结果，调查分析，判断

参考例句：

• His symptoms gave no obvious pointer to a possible diagnosis.他的症状无法作出明确的诊断。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做一次彻底的调查分析。

12 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼