Cancer treatment scheduling and dynamic heterogeneity in social dilemmas of tumour acidity and vasculature.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Tumours are diverse ecosystems with persistent heterogeneity in various cancer hallmarks like self-sufficiency of growth factor production for angiogenesis and reprogramming of energy metabolism for aerobic glycolysis. This heterogeneity has consequences for diagnosis, treatment and disease progression.

Methods

We introduce the double goods game to study the dynamics of these traits using evolutionary game theory. We model glycolytic acid production as a public good for all tumour cells and oxygen from vascularisation via vascular endothelial growth factor production as a club good benefiting non-glycolytic tumour cells. This results in three viable phenotypic strategies: glycolytic, angiogenic and aerobic non-angiogenic.

Results

We classify the dynamics in

SUBMITTER: Kaznatcheev A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5355932 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature