ニュースで学ぶ現代英語 24/9/5(木)腸内細菌移植でがん治療薬の効果高まるか
ニュースで学ぶ現代英語 24/9/5(木)腸内細菌移植でがん治療薬の効果高まるか
And I’m Tom Kain. It’s great to have you with us.
ＭＣ：トラウデン直美 解説：大門小百合
日本で臨床試験始まる、がん治療における腸内細菌の使用に関して
Trial starts in Japan on using gut bacteria in cancer treatment
Researchers in Japan are running a clinical trial to see if immunotherapy for cancer patients can be improved by intestinal bacteria.
Researchers from the National Cancer Center Japan and Juntendo University are working on treatments for stomach and esophageal cancer. Studies overseas have shown that patients unresponsive to immunotherapy drugs have unbalanced intestinal bacteria.
The team will transplant bacteria from healthy people into patients before they’re given immunotherapy drugs. They say the goal is to verify the safety and efficacy of the method with 45 patients over the next three years.
(Shoji Hirokazu / National Cancer Center Hospital)
“We hope the trial shows us what kind of intestinal bacteria patients need to benefit from drug treatment. I hope patients will have more options.”
国立がん研究センターなどのグループは、胃がんなどの患者に健康な人の腸内細菌を移植し腸内の環境を改善することで、がんの治療薬の効果を高められるか確かめる国内初の臨床試験を始めたと発表しました。胃がんや食道がんの治療には、患者の免疫の力を回復させてがんを攻撃する「免疫療法」の薬（免疫チェックポイント阻害薬）が広く使われていますが、中には効果が得られない患者もいて課題となっています。
(A group led by the National Cancer Center announced that it has started Japan’s first clinical trial to see if the effectiveness of cancer drugs can be enhanced by transplanting intestinal bacteria from healthy people into patients with stomach and other cancers to improve their intestinal environment. Immunotherapy drugs (immune checkpoint inhibitors), which attack cancer by restoring the patient’s immune system, are widely used in the treatment of stomach and esophageal cancer, but some patients do not benefit from them, and this has become an issue.)
研究グループは、薬の効果が低い患者は腸内細菌のバランスが崩れているという海外の研究結果に着目し、患者の腸内の環境を改善するため健康な人の腸内細菌を移植する臨床試験を始めました。研究グループによりますと、消化器のがんの治療に腸内細菌を移植する臨床試験は国内では初めてだということ
(Focusing on overseas research findings that patients with low efficacy of drugs have imbalance of intestinal bacteria, the research group has started a clinical trial to transplant intestinal bacteria from healthy people in order to improve the environment in the intestines of patients. According to the research group, this is the first clinical trial in Japan to transplant intestinal bacteria for the treatment of digestive organ cancer.)
-Today’s Takeaways
現代英語を学ぶうえで役に立つ知識を取り上げます。
【ニュース解説に関連する英語表現】
大門さんが、腸内の環境を改善することで、がんの治療薬の効果を高められるか確かめる臨床試験に関するニュースについて解説しました。関連する表現を紹介します。
intestinal bacteria / gut bacteria「腸内細菌」
intestinal「腸の」
intestine「腸」
ニュースのタイトルでは、gut bacteria
intestine , gut も消化管
intestine 腸, guts「（胃や腸などを含む）はらわた」「度胸、ガッツ」
Tom:
And guts with an s can also mean courage, determination and toughness.
For example, do you have the guts to go swimming with sharks?
医学用語では intestinal bacteria 、一般的には、 gut bacteria と言います。
That’s right.
-Discussion session
腸内細菌についての、大門さんとトムさんの会話
Daimon:
While medical treatment is necessary, I think daily lifestyle habits are also very important for the prevention of diseases. The news story we discussed today talked about intestinal bacteria, or gut bacteria, which is more commonly used in daily conversation. Tom, do you pay attention to gut bacteria?
Tom:
Not really, no, but I do know that yogurt is good for your gut. I try to have some a few times a week.
Daimon:
Good for you! Gut bacteria live off the food we eat. To increase the amount of beneficial bacteria in our bodies, I’ve heard we should eat food that is rich in soluble fiber.
fiber 繊維の事
ここでの fiber 食物繊維
soluble fiber 水溶性食物繊維
soluble 溶ける、溶けやすい
英語での fiber の意味は
Daimon:
Tom, what do you think of when you hear the word “fiber”?
Tom:
Personally, the first thing that comes to mind is “dietary fiber” – the stuff in food. “Fiber” also means a thread that forms something, but I think of it more as a food word.
個人的には、真っ先に思い浮かぶのは「食物繊維」だ。 「ファイバー」には、何かを形成する糸という意味もあるが、私はどちらかというと食べ物の言葉として考えている。
That’s right.
Tom:
Okay, well, soluble fiber isn’t all that familiar to me. Naomi, do you have any idea what kinds of food contain a lot of soluble fiber?
水溶性食物繊維を多く含む食べ物
Naomi:
I always try to eat soluble fiber first, like, sea weeds もずく、めかぶ. I eat those every day. And I also heard natto contains soluble fiber a lot, right?
Tom:
Oh, my. You just mentioned the food that I don’t like very much. I don’t think I have the guts to eat natto.
