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Cell-Cell Interactions in Solid Tumors — the Role of Cancer Stem Cells

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New Challenges for Cancer Systems Biomedicine

Part of the book series: SIMAI Springer Series ((SEMA SIMAI))

Abstract

It is increasingly argued that solid tumors follow a cellular hierarchy comparable to normal tissues, with so-called cancer stem cells on top of the hierarchy. In this model, cancer stem cells have the unique capability to initiate and propagate solid tumors. Non-stem cancer cells will form the bulk of the tumor population, but are by themselves incapable of giving rise to a continuously growing tumor. The two distinct phenotypes interact with one another and compete for common resources such as oxygen, nutrients, or available space. Single cell kinetics are parameterized with in vitro data and the interplay between cancer stem cells and their non-stem cancer cell counterpart is studied using two different modeling approaches: a cellular automaton model and a cellular Potts model. Simulations of tumor growth with both techniques reveal that cancer stem cell-driven solid tumors grow as conglomerates of self-metastases, suggesting a robust biological phenomenon. The growth rate of the tumor is dependent on the complex interplay of the underlying model parameters.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Alberto d’Onofrio, Paola Cerrai, and Alberto Gandolfi for inviting us to contribute to this book, and Philip Hahnfeldt and James Glazier for their contribution to the original development of the different models that are summarized in this chapter. This project was supported by the National Cancer Institute under Award Number U54CA149233 to L.H. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Cancer Institute or the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Cancer Systems Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, 736 Cambridge Street, 02135, Boston, MA, USA

    Xuefeng Gao, J. Tyson McDonald, Lynn Hlatky & Heiko Enderling

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  1. Xuefeng Gao
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  2. J. Tyson McDonald
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  3. Lynn Hlatky
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  4. Heiko Enderling
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Correspondence to Heiko Enderling .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    Alberto d’Onofrio

  2. Department of Mathematics, University of Pisa, Italy

    Paola Cerrai

  3. Istituto di Analisi dei Sistemi ed Informatica “A. Ruberti“ — CNR, Rome, Italy

    Alberto Gandolfi

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Gao, X., McDonald, J.T., Hlatky, L., Enderling, H. (2012). Cell-Cell Interactions in Solid Tumors — the Role of Cancer Stem Cells. In: d’Onofrio, A., Cerrai, P., Gandolfi, A. (eds) New Challenges for Cancer Systems Biomedicine. SIMAI Springer Series. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-2571-4_10

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