Transition Therapy: Tackling the Ecology of Tumor Phenotypic Plasticity.

ABSTRACT: Phenotypic switching in cancer cells has been found to be present across tumor types. Recent studies on Glioblastoma report a remarkably common architecture of four well-defined phenotypes coexisting within high levels of intra-tumor genetic heterogeneity. Similar dynamics have been shown to occur in breast cancer and melanoma and are likely to be found across cancer types. Given the adaptive potential of phenotypic switching (PHS) strategies, understanding how it drives tumor evolution and therapy resistance is a major priority. Here we present a mathematical framework uncovering the ecological dynamics behind PHS. The model is able to reproduce experimental results, and mathematical conditions for cancer progression reveal PHS-specific features of tumors with direct consequences on thera

SUBMITTER: Aguade-Gorgorio G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8712307 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature