A mutated gene has been found in a third of patients with the most common form of kidney cancer. The researchers said the discovery of a second major gene linked to renal cancer was a major advance. The study, published in the journal Nature, shows the gene is involved in packaging DNA in the body's cells. The Institute of Cancer Research said the study provided a better picture of how the cancer formed and paved the way for future therapies. Kidney cancer is incredibly good at evading detection; in around half of cases the sufferer has no symptoms.

　　研究发现，约三分之一的普通肾癌患者患病与基因突变有关系。研究者称，突变基因与肾癌有关系这一发现是一个重大进步。发表在《自然》杂志上的一项研究表明，基因与DNA进入人体细胞有关系。癌症研究所称，这一研究更好地解释了癌症形成的原因，并为以后的治疗提供了参考。令人难以相信的是，肾癌很难被检查出来，大约一半的患者都没有任何发病症状。

　　In 2008, nearly 4,000 people in the UK died from the illness. Scientists have been gradually unravelling the genetic nature of kidney cancer for years. The main gene involved, the tumour suppressor VHL, is mutated in eight out of 10 patients, but is not the whole picture. Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered several other genes which play a part, but have now discovered a gene, PBRM1, which is mutated in around a third of cases.

　　2008年，英国大约有4，000人死于这种病。一直以来，科学家们都在致力于对肾癌基因性质的研究。在80%的患者中，相关的主要基因也就是VHL抑制肿瘤基因都会发生突变，但并不是所有的基因都这样。英国剑桥大学韦尔科姆基金会桑格学院研究所的研究者发现，另外也有一些基因起着作用，但是目前仅发现一种PBRM1基因在约三分之一的患者中会发生基因突变。

　　Professor Mike Stratton, director of the Sanger Institute, said: "Our discovery is a major advance. We think we may have an almost complete understanding of the set of abnormal genes which drive this cancer. This insight will provide us with many new therapeutic directions."

　　桑格研究所麦克·斯特拉顿教授说我们这一发现是一个巨大的进步。我们认为，我们对致癌的异常基因已经有了一个基本全面的了解。"这一了解为我们提供了许多新的治疗方向。

　　Kidney cancer is the seventh most common cancer in men and the ninth in women. Dr. Elizabeth Rapley, Institute of Cancer Research, said: "This cancer has a poor prognosis6 with fewer than 50% of patients surviving their disease for more than five years. The research provides a better and more complete picture of the genetic changes needed for renal cancer to develop. It highlights the importance of genes that wind and unwind DNA in renal cancer and paves the way for the development of personalised cancer therapies that exploit these mutations."

　　肾癌在男性癌症患者中排在第七位，在女性癌症患者中列第九位。癌症研究所伊丽莎白·瑞普雷博士说对患这种癌症的人预后较差，能活过5年的还不到50%。这项研究为肾癌的进一步研究在基因变异方面提供了一个更为准确、更全面的图谱。它在肾癌中与DNA有遗传关系或没有遗传关系的基因意义重大，为探索这些突变从而取得癌症治疗方法的进展开辟了道路。"

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