Open AccessCan Environmental Manipulation Help Suppress Cancer? Non‐Linear Competition Among Tumor Cells in Periodically Changing Conditions
Author(s) -
Babajanyan S. G.,
Koonin Eugene V.,
Cheong Kang Hao
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.388
H-Index - 100
ISSN - 2198-3844
DOI - 10.1002/advs.202000340
Subject(s) - prostate cancer , cancer , biology , competition (biology) , population , somatic cell , cancer cell , tumor progression , tumor cells , cancer research , genetics , medicine , ecology , gene , environmental health
It has been shown that the tumor population growth dynamics in a periodically varying environment can drastically differ from the one in a fixed environment. Thus, the environment of a tumor can potentially be manipulated to suppress cancer progression. Diverse evolutionary processes play vital roles in cancer progression and accordingly, understanding the interplay between these processes is essential in optimizing the treatment strategy. Somatic evolution and genetic instability result in intra‐tumor cell heterogeneity. Various models have been developed to analyze the interactions between different types of tumor cells. Here, models of density‐dependent interaction between different types of tumor cells under fast periodical environmental changes are examined. It is illustrated that tumor population densities, which vary on a slow time scale, are affected by fast environmental variations. Finally, the intriguing density‐dependent interactions in metastatic castration‐resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in which the different types of tumor cells are defined with respect to the production of and dependence on testosterone are discussed.