医学英语教程生物医学unit11.docVIP

Cancer Pathogenesis Cancer Cell In adult humans some 3 to 4 million cells complete the normal life-sustaining process of cell division every second,largely without mistake,and guided by the genetic code.The central question in cell biology has been this:How are the process and rate of cell reproduction maintained so precisely in normal cells?The question in cancer research,based on the increased knowledge of normal cell physiology,follows:How and why this normal,precise regulation of celll reproduction and function lost in cancer cells,and why do cancer cells then remain mutant and malformed,functionally immature,imperfect,and incapable of normal cell life? 癌症的发病机制 癌细胞 在成人体内，每秒有3到4万的细胞去完成正常的维持生命的细胞分裂过程，基本上没什么差错，并且由遗传密码指导。细胞生物学的中心问题是：在正常细胞内细胞的增殖过程和速率为何能维持得如此精准无比？基于逐渐增多的有关正常细胞生理学知识，这个问题在癌症研究上延续为：如何以及为什么这个正常、精确的细胞增殖和功能规律对癌细胞不适用？为什么癌细胞随后保持变异和畸形，功能上不成熟、不完善，无正常细胞的生命能力？ Principles of Cancer Pathogenesis Cells arise only from preexisting cells by division and carry the genetic pattern of the preexisting cells.As this knowledge is applied to disease and to problems in cancer paphogenesis,several key principles emerge. 癌症发病原理 细胞只能通过细胞分裂从先前存在的细胞中产生并携带先前细胞的遗传模式。当这些知识被应用到疾病和癌症发病机制的问题时，几个关键的原理便会出现。 Gene Control Normally the various cell structures and functions operate in an orderly manner under the control of genes,which direct the specific processes of protein synthesis in the cell.Gene action may be switched on and off,depending on the position of a cell in the body,the stage of body development,and the external environment.Specific regulator genes control function by producing a repressor substance as needed to regulate operator genes and structural genes.This orderly regulation of induction and repression of cell activity may be lost with mutation of the regulatory genes.Control is also lost when a specific gene for some reason moves from its position to another location on the chromosome.A cell may became malignant when one ofthese potentially cancer-causing genes is then t