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Around one in 2,000 children will develop leukaemia. Up to now, the trigger has remained a mystery.
每2000名儿童中，就有一人或患上白血病。迄今为止，白血病的诱因仍是未解之谜。
But lead researcher Professor Mel Greaves, from The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and one of the UK's most influential cancer experts, has come up with a theory - keeping ?children too clean might be one of the factors that could influence which child will and which child won't develop this serious illness.
但伦敦癌症研究所的首席研究员、英国最具影响力的一位癌症专家梅尔·格里弗斯（Mel Greaves）教授提出了一个理论--让孩子在太过洁净的环境下成长可能是影响孩子患白血病的因素之一。
His research, he says, strongly suggests that acute ?lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), the most common childhood leukaemia, has a clear biological cause and is triggered by a variety of infections in predisposed children whose immune systems have not been properly primed.
他说，他的研究强烈表明：急性淋巴细胞白血病（ALL）是最为常见的儿童白血病，该疾病很明显是由生物学原因引起的，免疫系统发育不成熟的儿童易受到一系列感染，从而诱发该疾病。
In other words, not exposing babies to household germs may trigger a form of leukaemia. Prof Greaves shows that youngsters who are genetically at risk of developing ALL are significantly more likely to get the disease if their immune system isn't strengthened by being exposed to germs.
换言之，没有接触过细菌的婴儿可能会患上白血病。格里弗斯教授表示，如果遗传上有患急性淋巴细胞白血病风险的年轻人没有通过暴露于细菌环境而增强免疫系统，那他们就更有可能患该疾病。
Previous research backs up this theory by suggesting toddlers who attend nurseries are 30% less likely to develop ALL, due to them picking up infections from other children that boost their immune systems.
先前的研究表明去托儿所的蹒跚学步的儿童患急性淋巴细胞白血病的风险降低了30%，因为他们会通过与其他儿童接触而感染细菌，从而增强免疫系统，这一研究也支持了格里弗斯教授的理论。
Prof Greaves believes the most important implication of his work is that most cases of childhood leukaemia are likely to be preventable. He says: "This body of research is a culmination of decades of work, and at last provides a credible explanation for how the major type of childhood leukaemia develops." It's important to understand that one in 20 children is born with a genetic mutation that could lead to ALL.
格里弗斯教授认为，其工作的最重要意义就是，儿童白血病很有可能是可以预防的。他说道："该项研究是几十年工作的结晶，最终合情合理的解释了儿童是如何患上这种主流白血病的。"记住这一点很重要：二十分之一的儿童出生时就携带导致急性淋巴细胞白血病的基因突变。
Less than 1% become ill, however, because most children are exposed to household germs. If so, childhood leukaemia could become a ?preventable disease with something as simple as letting children come into contact with a bit of household "dirt".
然而，只有1%的人会患上该疾病，因为大多数儿童会接触屋内的细菌。若如此，儿童白血病则可以预防，只要让孩子稍微接触一些屋内"尘埃"就行了。
Professor Paul Workman, chief ?executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, says of Prof Greaves' work: "He has cut through the myths about childhood leukaemia and, for the first time, set out a single unified theory for how most cases are caused.
癌症研究所的首席执行官保罗·沃斯曼（Paul Workman）教授评论了格里弗斯教授的工作："他破解了有关儿童白血病的未解之谜，并第一次就大多数案例的起因提出了一个统一的理论。"
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