How do cancer cells behave differently from healthy ones? - George Zaidan

Translator: Andrea McDonough Reviewer: Bedirhan Cinar

翻译人员: Yin Zhu 校对人员: Marie Wang

We all start life as one single cell.

每个人的生命都从一个细胞开始

Then that cell divides and we are two cells,

随后，这个细胞分裂成两个

then four,

然后四个

then eight.

接着八个

Cells form tissues,

细胞形成组织

tissues form organs,

组织形成器官

organs form us.

器官组形成我们。

These cell divisions, by which we go from a single cell

这种细胞分裂，即我们从单细胞

to 100 trillion cells,

变成一百兆个细胞的过程

are called growth.

叫做“生长”

And growth seems like a simple thing

生长看似简单

because when we think of it,

因为一想到生长

we typically think of someone getting taller

就会想到长高

or, later in life, wider,

或者是中年发福，

but to cells, growth isn't simple.

但对细胞而言，生长并非易事。

Cell division is an intricate chemical dance

细胞分裂，是繁复的化学舞蹈

that's part individual, part community-driven.

一部分在细胞内发生，一部受外界影响。

And in a neighborhood of 100 trillion cells,

在一个有百兆细胞的细胞群中

some times things go wrong.

有时难免会出错。

Maybe an individual cell's set of instructions, or DNA,

也许某个细胞的生长指令，DNA，

gets a typo,

出现小错，

what we call a mutation.

我们称其为“突变”。

Most of the time, the cell senses mistakes

大多数时候，细胞自身会监测到错误，

and shuts itself down,

并及时自我毁灭。

or the system detects a troublemaker

再有时，细胞系统会侦查到一个捣蛋鬼

and eliminates it.

并将其消灭。

But, enough mutations can bypass the fail-safes,

但足够多的突变可以躲避自保机制，

driving the cell to divide recklessly.

造成细胞不受控制地分裂。

That one rogue cell becomes two,

一个不受控制的细胞变成两个

then four,

然后四个

then eight.

八个。

At every stage, the incorrect instructions

在每一个阶段，错误的讯息

are passed along to the cells' offspring.

都会被传递给这细胞的后代。

Weeks, months, or years

几周，几个月，几年

after that one rogue cell transformed,

一个异常细胞变异后

you might see your doctor about a lump in your breast.

你可能因乳房肿块去看医生。

Difficulty going to the bathroom could reveal

排泄困难可能

a problem in your intestine,

预示肠道，

prostate,

or bladder.

前列腺、

或膀胱有问题。

Or, a routine blood test might count too many white cells

也可能在常规血验中发现白血球数量过高

or elevated liver enzymes.

或肝脏酵素过高。

Your doctor delivers the bad news:

随后医生告知你一个坏消息：

it's cancer.

是癌症。

From here your strategy will depend

至此以后，你的治疗策略

on where the cancer is and

会取决于癌细胞的位置，

how far it's progressed.

和发展状况。

If the tumor is slow-growing and in one place,

如果瘤生长缓慢并聚集一处，

surgery might be all you need, if anything.

可能手术治疗就可以根除。

If the tumor is fast-growing or invading nearby tissue,

如果瘤成长生长迅速并侵袭周围细胞，

your doctor might recommend radiation

那医生可能推荐放射疗法

or surgery followed by radiation.

或手术摘除和放疗相结合。

If the cancer has spread,

如果癌症已扩散，

or if it's inherently everywhere like a leukemia,

或像血癌一样本身就蔓延于全身，

your doctor will most likely recommend chemotherapy

医生多半会推荐化疗

or a combination of radiation and chemo.

或化疗与放疗结合治疗。

Radiation and most forms of chemo work

放疗和多数的化疗都

by physically shredding the cells' DNA

运用物理方法破坏细胞的DNA

or disrupting the copying machinery.

或扰乱细胞复制机制。

But neither radiation nor chemotherapeutic drugs target only cancer cells.

但放疗和化疗破环的不单单是癌细胞。

Radiation hits whatever you point it at,

放疗会攻击所有被照射的细胞，

and your blood stream carries chemo-therapeutics

而血液会将化疗的药物

all over your body.

传递至全身。

So, what happens when different cells get hit?

那么，不同细胞被攻击时会发生什么呢？

Let's look at a healthy liver cell,

让我们分别看看一个健康的肝细胞，

a healthy hair cell,

一个健康的毛发细胞，

and a cancerous cell.

和一个癌变细胞。

The healthy liver cell divides only when it is stressed;

健康的肝细胞只有在危机时才分裂；

the healthy hair cell divides frequently;

健康的发细胞却常常分裂；

and the cancer cell divides even more frequently and recklessly.

而癌变的细胞分裂速度更快更肆无忌惮。

When you take a chemotherapeutic drug,

当你服用化疗药物后，

it will hit all of these cells.

它会攻击所有以上细胞。

And remember that the drugs work typically by disrupting cell division.

而化疗药物一般通过扰乱细胞分裂来达到治疗效果。

So, every time a cell divides,

所以，每次细胞分裂时，

it opens itself up to attack,

它就会受到化疗药物的攻击，

and that means the more frequently a cell divides,

这意味着细胞分裂得越快，

the more likely the drug is to kill it.

越容易被杀死。

So, remember that hair cell?

记得之前讲的发细胞？

It divides frequently and isn't a threat.

它常常分裂且对健康无害。

And, there are other frequently dividing cells in your body

身体里还有其他时常分裂的细胞

like skin cells, gut cells, and blood cells.

比如皮肤细胞，肠细胞，和血细胞。

So the list of unpleasant side effects of cancer treatment

所以抗癌药物的副作用会集中在

parallels these tissue types:

这些组织上；

hair loss,

skin rashes,

脱发，

出疹，

nausea,

晕眩，

vomiting,

fatigue,

呕吐，

疲惫，

weight loss,

体重减轻，

and pain.

疼痛。

That makes sense because these are the cells that get hit the hardest.

这都是意料之中的事，因为这些快速分裂的细胞会被攻击。

So, in the end, it is all about growth.

所以说到底就是攻击生长。

Cancer hijacks cells' natural division machinery

癌症劫持细胞自然分裂的机制

and forces them to put the pedal to the metal,

并迫使细胞以最快速度分裂，

growing rapidly and recklessly.

肆无忌惮地生长。

But, using chemotherapeutic drugs,

但运用化疗药物，

we take advantage of that aggressiveness,

我们借力打力

and we turn cancer's main strength

将癌细胞的绝招

into a weakness.

变成败笔。