小的红细胞可能预示着癌症

小的红细胞可能预示着癌症

Having abnormally small red blood cells -- a condition known as microcytosis -- could indicate cancer, according to new research led by a University of Exeter student working with a world-leading team.

埃克塞特大学学生与世界领先的团队合作开展的一项新研究表明，患有异常小的红细胞(一种称为微细胞增多症)可能表明癌症。

Medical Sciences student Rhain Hopkins was lead author of the study of more than 12,000 UK patients aged over 40, which found that the cancer risk in males was 6.2 per cent, compared to 2.7 per cent in those without microcytosis.

医学系学生Rhain Hopkins是这项研究的主要作者，该研究对12000多名40岁以上的英国患者进行了调查，结果发现男性患癌症的风险为6.2%，而那些没有发生微细胞增生的患者的风险为2.7%。

The research, funded by Cancer Research UK and NIHR and published in BJGP, found that in females, the risk of cancer was 2.7 per cent in those with microcytosis, compared to 1.4 per cent without.

这项研究由英国癌症研究所(Cancer research UK)和美国国立卫生研究院(NIHR)资助，发表在BJGP上。研究发现，在女性中，有微细胞增多症的人患癌症的风险为2.7%，而没有微细胞增多症的人患癌症的风险为1.4%。

Of more than 108,000 followed within the Clinical Practice Research Datalink records, 12,289 patients with microcytosis were followed up. Of those, 497 developed cancer within a year.

在临床实践研究数据链记录的108000多例随访中，12289例微细胞增多症患者得到随访。其中497人在一年内患上癌症。

Microcytosis is related to iron deficiency and with genetic conditions which affect haemaglobn in the blood. Similarly, iron deficiency has been identified as a feature of some cancers, particularly colorectal. Microcytosis is easily identified in a routine blood test.

微细胞增多与缺铁有关，并与影响血液中血球的遗传条件有关。同样，缺铁也被认为是某些癌症的一个特征，尤其是结直肠癌。在常规血液检查中很容易发现微细胞增生。

Rhian Hopkins was working with Exeter's cancer diagnosis team as part of her Professional Training Year, which gives Medical Sciences students practical experience of research. As lead author of the paper, she said: "Research targeted at diagnosing cancer earlier is so important in reducing the burden of this devastating disease. The identification of risk markers, such as microcytosis, that are relevant to a range of cancers, can have a real impact in primary care. Being part of this research has been a very rewarding experience and getting my first paper published is such a massive achievement."

Rhian Hopkins在她的专业培训年中与埃克塞特的癌症诊断团队一起工作，为医学专业的学生提供了实践研究的经验。作为该论文的主要作者，她说：“针对早期诊断癌症的研究，对于减轻这种毁灭性疾病的负担非常重要。与多种癌症相关的危险标志物(如微细胞增多症)的鉴定，可以参与这项研究是非常有益的经历，而发表第一篇论文是一项巨大的成就。”

Professor Willie Hamilton, at the University of Exeter Medical School, who oversaw the research, said: "Overall, the risk of cancer in patients with microcytosis was still low, however our research indicates a need to investigate cancer. In two patients with cancer out of three the possibility of cancer is fairly easy to identify. For the other third, symptoms are often vague, and don't clearly point to cancer. For these patients GPs have to use more subtle clues to recognise that cancer may be present. Small red cells have long been recognised with colon cancer, but this study shows that they are a much broader clue, alerting the doctor to the small possibility of one of several possible cancers."

负责这项研究的埃克塞特大学医学院的威利汉密尔顿教授说：“总的来说，微细胞增多症患者患癌症的风险仍然很低，但是我们的研究表明有必要对癌症进行研究。在三分之二的癌症患者中，癌症的可能性相当容易识别。另外三分之一，症状通常是模糊的，并不明显指向癌症。对于这些病人，全球定位系统必须使用更微妙的线索来识别癌症存在可能。小红细胞早就被认为与结肠癌有关，但这项研究表明，它们是一个更广泛的线索，提醒医生注意几种可能的癌症。”