The Case of the Disappearing Fingerprints
One useful anti-cancer drug can effectively erase the whorls and other characteristic marks that give people their distinctive fingerprints (指纹). Losing them could become troublesome. A case 1 online in a letter by Annals of Oncology (肿瘤学) indicates how big a 2 of losing fingerprints is.
Eng-Huat Tan, a Singapore-based medical doctor describes a 62-year old man who has used capecitabine to 3 his nasopharyngeal cancer(鼻咽癌). After three years on the 4 , the patient decided to visit U. S. relatives last December. But he was stopped by U. S. customs officials 5 4 hours after entering the country when those officials couldn’t get fingerprints from the man. There were no 6 swirly marks appearing from his index finger.
U. S. customs has been fingerprinting incoming foreign visitors for years, Tan says. Unfortunately, for the Singaporean traveler, one potential 7 effect of his drug treatment is a smoothing of the tissue on the finger pads. 8 ,no fingerprints.
"It is uncertain when fingerprint 9 will begin to take place in patients who are taking capecitabine," Tan points out. So he 10 any physicians who prescribe the drag to provide their patients with a doctor’s 11 pointing out that their medicine may cause fingerprints to disappear.
ually, the Singapore traveler made it into the United States. I guess the name on his passport didn’t raise any red flags. But he’s also now got the explanatory doctor’s note—and won’t leave home 12 it.
By the way, maybe the Food and Drug Administration (美国食品药物管理局), 13 approved use of the drug 11 years ago, should consider updating its list of side effects 14 with this medicine. The current list does note that patients may experience vomiting (呕吐), stomach pain and some other side effects. But no where 15 it mention the potential for loss of fingerprints. The Case of the Disappearing Fingerprints