本文轉載自自由電子報
This article reproduced from the newsletter of The Liberty Times.



《中英對照讀新聞》Index finger length prostate cancer clue 食指長度是攝護腺癌線索
◎國際新聞中心

The length of a man’s fingers can provide clues to his risk of prostate cancer, according to new research. A British Journal of Cancer study found men whose index finger was longer than their ring finger were significantly less likely to develop the disease.

根據新研究，男性手指的長度，可提供他罹患攝護腺癌風險的線索。一項刊登在《英國癌症期刊》的研究發現，食指比無名指長的男性，罹患攝護腺癌的風險明顯較低。

Researchers made the discovery after comparing the hands of 1,500 prostate cancer patients with 3,000 healthy men. The length of the fingers is fixed before birth and is thought to relate to sex hormone levels in the womb.

研究人員比較1500名攝護腺癌患者與3000名健康男性的手之後發現，手指長度在出生前即已確定，而且據信與子宮裡的性荷爾蒙多寡相關。

Being exposed to less testosterone before birth results in a longer index finger and may protect against prostate cancer later in life, say researchers at the University of Warwick and the Institute of Cancer Research. One of the report authors, Professor Ros Eeles, said more studies would be needed, but if these confirmed the findings it could be used a simple test for prostate cancer risk.

華威大學與癌症研究所的研究人員表示，出生前暴露在較少睪丸酮，導致食指較長，也可能預防在較年長後罹患攝護腺癌。報告其中一名作者艾利斯教授說，還需要較多研究，不過如果證實這項發現，可能會被用作罹患攝護腺癌風險的簡單檢測法。

She said："This exciting finding means that finger pattern could potentially be used to select at-risk men for ongoing screening, perhaps in combination with other factors such as family history or genetic testing."

她說：「這項令人興奮的發現，代表可能可以用手指模式來挑選出有風險的男性進行篩檢，或許還可以結合家族史或是基因測驗等因素。」

新聞辭典

result in：片語，導致。例句：Icy road conditions in Teesdale resulted in two roads being closed.（替斯戴爾路面冰封，導致兩條路封閉。）

relate to：片語，關於。Chapter nine relates to the effects of inflation on consumers.（第9章是關於通膨對消費者的影響。）

ongoing：形容詞，進行中的。例句：No agreement has yet been reached and the negotiations are still ongoing.（目前尚未達成任何協議，談判還在進行中。）