In many ways, doctors and patients took a "less is more" approach to medical care and screening in 2011, though not always intentionally. Experts took a second look at the value of prostate screening and treatment, as well as the safety and effectiveness of blockbuster drugs. Some families questioned routine childhood vaccinations, a trend that contributed to outbreaks of measles and other infectious diseases.
回望2011年，在许多情形下，尽管并不总是有意而为之，但是医患双方都坚持诊断与治疗“越少越好”的态度。即便是治疗前列腺疾患的特效药已经标榜了安全性和疗效，但医疗专家都会对其诊疗的价值审视再三。一些家庭质疑儿童常规疫苗接种计划，这一趋势对麻疹和其它传染性疾病的爆发起到了推波助澜的作用。
Prostate cancer: Watch and wait. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent group that advises the government on screening, is no stranger to controversy. It caused an uproar two years ago by recommending fewer women get routine mammograms. In October, the group said healthy men should no longer get PSA tests to screen for prostate cancer, because they don't save lives but do lead to side effects such as impotence and incontinence.
前列腺癌：观察+等待美国预防医学工作组(U.S. Preventive Services Task Force)是一家致力于向政府提出医学检查建议的独立机构。该机构今年又引发争议丝毫不令人奇怪。两年前，它建议妇女尽量不要接受常规乳房X光检查便引起（医学界的）骚动。今年十月，该机构又称“健康男性不应再接受前列腺癌PSA检查，”因为此类检查不仅不会挽救患者生命，反而会导致诸如阳痿和小便失禁之类的副作用。
A separate panel of experts, convened by the National Institutes of Health, concluded that many men diagnosed with early prostate cancer could safely delay treatment or avoid it altogether, opting to be followed closely instead. The panel's report this month noted that most prostate cancers grow too slowly to ever threaten a man's life.
另外一个由美国国家卫生研究院（National Institutes of Health）召集的专家小组得出结论，许多检查出患早期前列腺癌的男性可以安全地延缓治疗或者干脆不治疗，代之以密切关注其发展。该小组本月发布的报告指出，大多数前列腺癌病程发展缓慢，甚至不足以威胁一个人的生命。
Avastin revoked for breast cancer. In November, the FDArevoked the approval of Avastin for breast cancer. Some women believe the drug has helped them, but doctors say they have no way to tell which women will benefit from the $88,000 drug and which will be harmed. FDA commissioner Margaret Hamburg said the blockbuster drug, which is still approved for other cancers, doesn't help breast cancer patients live longer, but it increases the risk of serious side effects, such as bleeding and high blood pressure.
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