Breast cancer genetic discovery hailed 乳腺癌基因研究新發現

文字稿

科學傢說他們現在已經對引起乳腺癌的幾乎全部基因突變有瞭近乎完美的認識。這項發表在《自然》期刊上的研究結果被稱為具有“裡程碑”意義的時刻，因為此研究結果可以幫助解鎖治療乳腺癌和防止乳腺癌發病的新手段。以下是 James Gallagher 的報道。

To understand the causes of cancer, scientists have to know what goes wrong in our DNA – our blueprint of life – that transforms healthy tissue into cancerous tissue. Scientists, led by the Sanger Institute in Cambridge, analysed all 3 billion letters of the genetic code in more than five hundred patients with breast cancer in the largest ever study of its kind.

The researchers say there are ninety three sets of instructions or genes that if mutated can cause tumours. Professor Sir Mike Stratton, the Director of The Sanger Institute, said understanding had been transformed. He believes new drugs could eventually be targeted at each of the mutations, similar to the way Herceptin is already being used.

The scientists also tried to find out why genes become mutated in the first place.

Mutations leave scars on our DNA and that allowed the team to identify twelve types of damage that cause mutations in breast tissue. Some are related to family risk, others seem to be the result of fighting off infections but most are still unexplained. But understanding those, offers hopes at being able to prevent some cancers in the first place.

詞匯表

blueprint 藍圖
transforms 轉變，使變樣
analysed 分析，研究
genetic code 遺傳密碼
genes 基因
mutated （遺傳物質）突變瞭，變異瞭
tumours 腫瘤
transformed 被轉變瞭
targeted 被定向的，使針對的
scars 傷痕，傷疤
infections 感染

測驗

請聽報道並回答下列問題。

1. Did all the patients involved with this research have breast cancer?

2. True or false? Tumours can be caused by a change in our genes.

3. What did scientists find was the most common reason for scars on our DNA that caused mutations in breast tissue?

4. How many letters in the genetic code of the patients did scientists look at?

答案

1. Did all the patients involved with this research have breast cancer?
Yes. 3 billion letters of the genetic code in more than five hundred patients with breast cancer were analysed.

2. True or false? Tumours can be caused by a change in our genes.
True. Researchers say there are ninety three sets of instructions or genes that if changed in some way – or mutated – can cause tumours.

3. What did scientists find was the most common reason for scars on our DNA that caused mutations in breast tissue?
They’re not sure – most are still unexplained.

4. How many letters in the genetic code of the patients did scientists look at?
They analysed all 3 billion letters of the genetic code.