The cancer death rate in the U.S. fell by the most on record as advances in treatments for lung tumors （肿瘤） like video-assisted surgery helped prolong the lives of patients.
The death rate from cancer has been gradually declining for 26 years, thanks in large part to fewer people smoking cigarettes. But from 2016 to 2017, the most recent period available, it dropped by 2.2%, the most ever in a single year, according to a report released Wednesday by the American Cancer Society. That compares with an average 1.5% yearly decline over the decade. The drop translates to roughly 2.9 million fewer cancer deaths than would have occurred had death rates remained at their peak. For lung cancer specifically, the death rate declined 4.3% annually from 2013 to 2017.
"It is really lung cancer that is driving this," said Rebecca Siegel, scientific director of surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, and lead author on the new study. "We found increases in survival for lung cancer at every stage in diagnosis.”, She attributed the lower deaths to improvements in treatments, including video-assisted surgery that enables more patients with early lung tumors to become eligible for operations; more precise radiation treatment; and better scanning technology that allows doctors to better assess the stage of tumor, so the patient gets the best treatment right away. At later stages of illness, new, targeted drugs that aim at specific disease-causing genes are helping patients whose tumors have those genetic flaws （缺陷）.Overall, lung cancer death rates have dropped by 51% for men since their peak in 1990, and by 26% for women since their peak in 2002.
There's the potential for more progress in future reports. That's because the latest death-rate statistics go only through 2017, and likely don't include the potential impact in lung cancer death from immune-therapy drugs. They became widely used in lung cancer only in the past few years.
The report, based on U.S. government data, isn't all good news. Prostate （前列腺）cancer death rates have leveled off recently after a period of decline. That may be because many doctors pulled back on using the controversial prostate-specific antigen test, or PSA, which can spot the disease but can lead to over-treatment of men who may never have died from their tumors.
"Though it was definitely causing harm, it was also contributing to declines in death," Siegel said. What's needed now is better screening tests to detect only the prostate cancers that will go on to cause harm.
Population death rates are considered one of the most reliable ways of measuring progress in cancer treatment and prevention. By contrast, cancer survival rates can sometimes be influenced by improvements in diagnosing tiny, early stage tumors that wouldn't necessarily be deadly.
12. According to paragraph 2, ______.
A. cancer death rate reached its peak in 2017
B. death rate decreases over the past 2 decades
C. 2.9 million people die of cancer in America every year
D. most of the cancer patients in America suffer from lung cancer
13. We can learn from the passage that ______.
A. female death rate of lung cancer drops more than that of male
B. targeted drugs have led to rapid increase in cancer death rates
C. better scanning technology will lead to improvement in treating genetic flaws
D. improper use of prostate-specific antigen test can lead to over-treatment of men
14. The underlined expression "level off” in paragraph 5 means ______.
A. remain unchanged B. show up
C. take off D. become sharp
15. What might be the best title of the passage?
A. Medical Progress Prolonging Patients’ Lives
B. Cancer Death Rates Dropping at the Fastest Pace
C. Significant Improvement in Treating Lung Cancer
D. Advanced Technologies Applied in Cancer Treatment
答案
12. B 13. D 14. A 15. B
解析
【12题详解】
细节理解题。根据第二段第一句“The death rate from cancer has been gradually declining for 26 years, thanks in large part to fewer people smoking cigarettes.”可知，癌症死亡率在26年连续下降，大部分是由于更少的人吸烟。所以B项“在过去的20年死亡率下降”表述正确。故选B项。
【13题详解】
细节理解题。根据第五段最后两句“…using the controversial prostate-specific antigen test, or PSA, which can spot the disease but can lead to over-treatment of men who may never have died from their tumors.”可知，使用有争议的前列腺特异抗原测试可以发现疾病，但是会导致男性的过度治疗。故选D项。
【14题详解】
词句猜测题。根据第五段内容“That may be because many doctors pulled back on using the controversial prostate-specific antigen test, or PSA, which can spot the disease but can lead to over-treatment of men who may never have died from their tumors.”可知，很多医生放弃使用有争议的前列腺特异抗原测试，它可以发现疾病但是可能导致对可能永远不会死于肿瘤的男性的过度治疗。由此可推知，放弃使用能发现疾病的测试会导致死亡率不再下降，所以“Prostate （前列腺）cancer death rates have leveled off recently after a period of decline.”的意思是“前列腺癌死亡率在一段时间的下降后最近保持平稳”，“leveled off”意为“保持不变”。故选A项。
【15题详解】
主旨大意题。第一段“The cancer death rate in the U.S. fell by the most on record…(美国癌症死亡率有史以来降幅最大……)”是文章的主题句，结合全文内容可知，本文主要讲述了美国死亡率近年来下降最快并分析了其原因。所以短文的最佳标题为“癌症死亡率以最快的速度下降”。故选B项。