Accumulation of driver and passenger mutations during tumor progression.

ABSTRACT: Major efforts to sequence cancer genomes are now occurring throughout the world. Though the emerging data from these studies are illuminating, their reconciliation with epidemiologic and clinical observations poses a major challenge. In the current study, we provide a mathematical model that begins to address this challenge. We model tumors as a discrete time branching process that starts with a single driver mutation and proceeds as each new driver mutation leads to a slightly increased rate of clonal expansion. Using the model, we observe tremendous variation in the rate of tumor development-providing an understanding of the heterogeneity in tumor sizes and development times that have been observed by epidemiologists and clinicians. Furthermore, the model provides a simple formula for th

SUBMITTER: Bozic I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2972991 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature