Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Talent woman recovering after alleged vicious assault by two men Medford police track down New Year's Eve car crash suspect Emergency services Public meetings for Jan. 5-9, 2014 Head first Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Talent woman recovering after alleged vicious assault by two men Medford police track down New Year's Eve car crash suspect Emergency services Emergency services Sheriff's deputies arrest two after pursuit on Table Rock Road Politics and Elections Councilman stirs online dust-up with anti-marijuana post State certifies recount showing failure of GMO-labeling measure Time running out for O&C funds GMO vote recount still shows little change Education Ashland schools to implement chickenpox precautions Traveling artist sets the stage for Ruch School amphitheater Ruch school class focuses on the natural environment Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Logos may offer students 'fifth year' at RCC or SOU Environment Monument expansion expected to increase tourism, protect resources Biologist resigns over LNG reporting failure Bird flu discovered in Winston backyard flock Jackson County holds back on enforcing GMO ban for now No fish, no funding for problem dams State News Seabird die-off puzzles scientists Oregon fans get married Rose Bowl parking lot Earthquake off coast shakes Humboldt County Stranded sea turtle recovers at Oregon aquarium Oregon minimum wage rises to $9.25 Nation - World Obama makes Maduro’s ‘insolent Yankees’ line harder to sell Obituaries Philip Richard Lind Howard S. LaMere Carl Grant Kirkpatrick James Carl Hudson Cyriel Howard DeRoo Weather Photo Galleries Since You Asked Videos Web Cams Mail Tribune 100 Shareable In memoriam: 2014’s notable deaths Looking back: Do you remember 2014’s biggest stories? Sports Latest Stories No. 10 Utah humiliates UCLA Romo, Cowboys rally past Lions in wild card Colts pull away from Bengals Getting defensive No more questions: TCU gave all the right answers Varsity 541 College Sports No. 10 Utah humiliates UCLA Getting defensive No more questions: TCU gave all the right answers Before leading Ducks, Young studied Mariota Big rally gives SOU men road triumph Pro Sports Romo, Cowboys rally past Lions in wild card Colts pull away from Bengals Kelly’s move was as quick as his offense Michigan’s Harbaugh attacking recruiting in dead period Kaepernick needs solid QB coach with new hire Community Sports Business Latest Stories Irrigation system upgrade gets a forum Ride & Drive: 2015 Honda Crosstour Positive Steps Rising prices bear fruit for local pear growers Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Real Estate News Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Rental owners group reports 2.48 percent vacancy rate People In Business Transportation Falling gas prices help spur travel at Medford airport Agriculture Rising prices bear fruit for local pear growers K-BAR ignites agriculture boom beneath Table Rocks Opinion Latest Our View: Waiting a little longer for the bus Letters to the Editor, Jan. 4 Eugene Robinson: Economic facts get in the way Guest Opinion: Get the best deal on pipeline Guest Opinion: Say yes to clean energy jobs, no to the LNG project Editorials Our View: Waiting a little longer for the bus Other Views: Oregon's GMO battle is far from over Our View: Meeting in the middle keeps a mill open Our View: Help clear the air for the new year Our View: Caves expansion worth the wait Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, Jan. 4 Letters to the Editor. Jan. 2 Letters to the Editor, Jan. 1 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 31 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 30 Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Get the best deal on pipeline Guest Opinion: Say yes to clean energy jobs, no to the LNG project Guest Opinion: Loved one chose death with dignity in Oregon Guest Opinion: Forest thinning means water for the future Guest Opinion: Suit threatens family farms and democratic vote Lifestyle Latest stories Expert offers advice on quake preparedness Becoming terminal all by myself Community blog: Get the New Year off to a Great Start Hobart Bluff offers top-notch views Fishing report: Jan. 2, 2015 Food Community blog: Ring in new flavors with year's last appetizers Food for Thought: Tips for cooking when you have food allergies Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Kitchen Call: The comfort of creamy soups Community blog: Baking contest finalists combine cookies, candies Home and Garden Dear Monty: Best start for 1st-time homebuyers Dear Monty: Can a rookie real estate agent be a good choice? Bathtub or shower: What’s best for you? Home Help: Home safety tips for a safe and happy winter season How NOT to install drywall Health Community blog: We Don't Have To Conspire Against Good Health HealthStyle: New year, new you Health Watch: Build up your glutes in the off-season Dr. Jeff Hersh: What's a monoclonal antibody? Dr. Murray Feingold: Have a happy and stress-free holiday Hiking Biking Faith Churches start new year with messages of hope (No heading) Churches, synagogs host seasonal events Bethel Church helps families at McLoughlin Middle School Milestones and Achievements Little Yaretzi is county's first baby of 2015 Local landowners see no public good in proposed pipeline Pear Blossom queen has open heart surgery Hundreds enjoy Christmas dinner, gifts at St. Vincent de Paul SinceYou Asked: SBA would work with Mt. Ashland Ski Area about loan Columnist for a Day Rogue Healthy Aging Tempo Latest stories Live Music in Local Clubs Generation Jones plays Paddy Brannan's Pete Herzog and Dennis Walker play 2Hawk Winery Paul Turnipseed Trio at Belle Fiore Jefferson State Choral Coalition presents 'Reason for the Season' Theater Camelot's 'Fiddler' is a charmer ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Meet the real Jacob Marley This Nutcracker ballet will have a superhero twist Plumbing the depths of meaning Music Live Music in Local Clubs Generation Jones plays Paddy Brannan's Pete Herzog and Dennis Walker play 2Hawk Winery Paul Turnipseed Trio at Belle Fiore Jefferson State Choral Coalition presents 'Reason for the Season' Community Events New Schneider Museum exhibits highlight First Friday Celebrate winter solstice with the Bad Film Society Tomaseen Foley's "A Celtic Christmas" returns to the Craterian Theater Stefan Baumann and Eugene Bennett highlight Third Fridays Dancing People Company celebrates the solstice Dining Jackson Creek Pizza Co. is a good downtown haunt Dobra Tea menu offers hundreds of brews Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Coffee shops roll out holiday-inspired drinks Over Easy serves 'pop-up' brunch Sundays Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Magazines & Special Sections NEWS NOW Talent woman recovering after alleged vicious assault by two men ... Our View: Waiting a little longer for the bus ... Drought-plagued reservoirs need the white stuff to recover ... Talent woman recovering after alleged vicious assault by two men ... Our View: Waiting a little longer for the bus ... Drought-plagued reservoirs need the white stuff to recover ... Dr. Jeff Hersh: What's a monoclonal antibody? Comment By Dr. Jeff Hersh Wicked Local MailTribune.com By Dr. Jeff Hersh Wicked Local Posted Dec. 29, 2014 @ 1:02 pm By Dr. Jeff Hersh Wicked Local Posted Dec. 29, 2014 @ 1:02 pm » Social News Q: What is a monoclonal antibody, and what role does it play in medicine? A: We all have our own personalized immune system. If we are exposed to a disease we develop antibodies to antigens (a substance the body identifies as “foreign,” whether it’s an infection, cancer or other condition) from it, starting a cascade of immune system activity. Monoclonal antibodies are multiple copies of one specific Ab to one specific antigen. The laboratory development of mAb’s is a rapidly developing technology. There are high-level categorizations of diseases; viral infections and cancer are two examples. Viral infections can be further categorized, for example influenza (flu), Ebola, cold viruses, etc. And of course cancers can be further categorized, such as lung cancer, leukemia, breast cancer, etc. These are still a fairly high level of categorization. Sometimes there is significant commonality to different strains of a disease, and treatments may be developed to benefit most patients with them: For some cancers, biopsy and imaging tests may be able to identify and “stage” the disease, and then a “standard” treatment for that genre of cancer may be sufficient for a high percentage of patients. However, many conditions manifest differently in different people, and some diseases rapidly change/mutate; hence a more detailed characterization to identify diagnostic tests and/or treatments may be beneficial: The flu vaccine is changed every year. Although a certain cancer therapy may benefit many patients, not all patients will respond to it. What if we could find something specific to a given disease in an individual patient? What if we could then develop specialized testing for this condition? And what if we can then develop a focused treatment, specialized for the specific condition in the individual patient? These questions have led us to the concept of precision medicine (also called personalized medicine), where a disease in an individual patient is categorized in a detailed way; the more detailed the characterization, the more specific a diagnosis and treatment can be developed. The steps to achieve this include: Identify specifics of the condition: This may be a unique protein for a cancer, an antigen for an infectious or other disease, or characteristic aspects of an autoimmune disease. A mAb may then be developed which is specific for the condition. Identify specialized testing: Although there are many possibilities here, let’s use immunoPET as an example. If a mAb can be identified it can be “tagged” (for PET scans this is done by attaching a radioisotope) and the locations where the mAb binds (the locations of the condition, for example a cancer) can be identified. If this can be done quantitatively, this technique may be used not only to stage the disease, but also to monitor treatment response. Develop individualized treatments: This may include vaccines to boost the body’s immune response (this is done in preventative vaccines, but is also being utilized as a treatment for certain cancers and other conditions), or to develop cell-targeted treatments (such as cancer therapies, whether it is treatment directed at cancer cells or to things that support cancer growth such as growth factors, blood supply, etc.). For example, antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) may attach an anti-cancer treatment to a mAb; these then ‘seek out’ the specific cancer cells (utilizing the mAb) and kill them. Right now there are over 200 mAb’s being evaluated and developed to help diagnose and/or treat many different cancers and diseases. In parallel, methods to utilize mAb’s to create diagnostic tests to help identify, stage and monitor diseases (including monitoring response to treatment) are being refined and optimized. Finally, ways to utilize mAb’s, and other disease-specific characteristics, to create new treatments are well underway. There are many technical hurdles to overcome in order to realize the potential from this approach. The good news is that precision medicine is rapidly advancing, with multiple diagnostic tests and treatments (such as ways to suppress the immune system to treat autoimmune conditions and multiple treatments/tests based on specifically identified cancer characteristics) already helping many patients. Jeff Hersh, Ph.D., M.D., can be reached at [email protected]. By Dr. Jeff Hersh Wicked Local MailTribune.com By Dr. Jeff Hersh Wicked Local Posted Dec. 29, 2014 @ 1:02 pm » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501