Download or read book Dynamics of Cancer written by Steven A. Frank and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2018-06-05 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The onset of cancer presents one of the most fundamental problems in modern biology. In Dynamics of Cancer, Steven Frank produces the first comprehensive analysis of how particular genetic and environmental causes influence the age of onset. The book provides a unique conceptual and historical framework for understanding the causes of cancer and other diseases that increase with age. Using a novel quantitative framework of reliability and multistage breakdown, Frank unifies molecular, demographic, and evolutionary levels of analysis. He interprets a wide variety of observations on the age of cancer onset, the genetic and environmental causes of disease, and the organization of tissues with regard to stem cell biology and somatic mutation. Frank uses new quantitative methods to tackle some of the classic problems in cancer biology and aging: how the rate of increase in the incidence of lung cancer declines after individuals quit smoking, the distinction between the dosage of a chemical carcinogen and the time of exposure, and the role of inherited genetic variation in familial patterns of cancer. This is the only book that presents a full analysis of the age of cancer onset. It is a superb teaching tool and a rich source of ideas for new and experienced researchers. For cancer biologists, population geneticists, evolutionary biologists, and demographers interested in aging, this book provides new insight into disease progression, the inheritance of predisposition to disease, and the evolutionary processes that have shaped organismal design.

Download or read book Evolutionary Dynamics of Malignancy written by Robert C. Jackson and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-06-24 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advances in cancer genomics are transforming our understanding of cancer, and have profound implications for its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Evolutionary dynamics suggests that as few as two mutations can cause transformation of normal cells into cancer stem cells. A process of Darwinian selection, involving a further three or more mutations, taking place over a period of years, can then result in progression to a life-threatening tumour. In many cases the immune response can recognise and eliminate the mutant cells, but most advanced tumours have mutations that activate immune checkpoints and enable the tumour to hide from the immune system. For the most hard-to-treat tumours, future progress will require molecular diagnostics to detect cancer-causing mutations in healthy subjects, and new drugs or vaccines that prevent the progression process. Chapters of this book deal with the signalling pathways that control cell division, and changes in these pathways in cancer cells. Three cell cycle checkpoints that are often mutated in cancer are analysed in detail. A discussion of chronic myeloid leukaemia illustrates the role of reactive oxygen species in driving progression from a chronic to an acute condition. A single drug that suppresses reactive oxygen can prevent disease progression and turn an otherwise deadly disease into a condition that can be managed to enable many years of normal life. Another chapter discusses chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia, a disease that involves both genetic and epigenetic change. Tumour progression is discussed as a multi-stage process in which cancer stem cells evolve into genetically unstable, invasive, metastatic, drug-resistant growths. Each of these stages can act as targets for drugs or immunomodulators, but the future of cancer treatment lies in understanding tumour dynamics, and arresting malignancy at the earliest possible stage. Evolutionary dynamics is a primarily mathematical technique, but the target readership will be tumour biologists, clinicians, and drug developers. Computational detail is provided in an online supplement, but the main text emphasises the implications of the dynamics for an understanding of tumour biology and does not require mathematical expertise.

Download or read book Dynamics of Cancer written by Dominik Wodarz and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2014-04-24 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book aims to provide an introduction to mathematical models that describe the dynamics of tumor growth and the evolution of tumor cells. It can be used as a textbook for advanced undergraduate or graduate courses, and also serves as a reference book for researchers. The book has a strong evolutionary component and reflects the viewpoint that cancer can be understood rationally through a combination of mathematical and biological tools. It can be used both by mathematicians and biologists. Mathematically, the book starts with relatively simple ordinary differential equation models, and subsequently explores more complex stochastic and spatial models. Biologically, the book starts with explorations of the basic dynamics of tumor growth, including competitive interactions among cells, and subsequently moves on to the evolutionary dynamics of cancer cells, including scenarios of cancer initiation, progression, and treatment. The book finishes with a discussion of advanced topics, which describe how some of the mathematical concepts can be used to gain insights into a variety of questions, such as epigenetics, telomeres, gene therapy, and social interactions of cancer cells. Contents:Teaching GuideCancer and Somatic EvolutionMathematical Modeling of TumorigenesisBasic Growth Dynamics and Deterministic Models:Single Species GrowthTwo-Species Competition DynamicsCompetition Between Genetically Stable and Unstable CellsChromosomal Instability and Tumor GrowthAngiogenesis Inhibitors, Promoters, and Spatial GrowthEvolutionary Dynamics and Stochastic Models:Evolutionary Dynamics of Tumor Initiation Through Oncogenes: The Gain-of-Function ModelEvolutionary Dynamics of Tumor Initiation Through Tumor-Suppressor Genes: The Loss-of-Function Model and Stochastic TunnelingMicrosatellite and Chromosomal Instability in Sporadic and Familial Colorectal CancersEvolutionary Dynamics in Hierarchical PopulationsSpatial Evolutionary Dynamics of Tumor InitiationComplex Tumor Dynamics in SpaceStochastic Modeling of Cellular Growth, Treatment, and Resistance GenerationEvolutionary Dynamics of Drug Resistance in Chronic Myeloid LeukemiaAdvanced Topics:Evolutionary Dynamics of Stem-Cell Driven Tumor GrowthTumor Growth Kinetics and Disease ProgressionEpigenetic Changes and the Rate of DNA MethylationTelomeres and Cancer ProtectionGene Therapy and Oncolytic Virus TherapyImmune Responses, Tumor Growth, and TherapiesTowards Higher Complexities: Social Interactions Readership: Researchers in mathematical biology, mathematical modeling, biology, mathematical oncology. Keywords:Mathematical Oncology;Dynamics;Evolution;Evolutionary Dynamics;Cancer;Mathematical Models;Somatic Evolution;TeachingKey Features:Both a reference book for the topic, and provides material for undergraduate and graduate coursesTries to bridge the divide between mathematicians and biologists, which is also reflected in the backgrounds of the two authorsShows how mathematical concepts can be translated into experimentally and clinically useful insightsRooted in evolutionary biology, the book handles this very complex phenomenon in an intuitive and mathematically elegant wayContains problems and research projects for each topic10 pages of figures in color

Download or read book Ecology and Evolution of Cancer written by Beata Ujvari and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2017-02-08 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ecology and Evolution of Cancer is a timely work outlining ideas that not only represent a substantial and original contribution to the fields of evolution, ecology, and cancer, but also goes beyond by connecting the interfaces of these disciplines. This work engages the expertise of a multidisciplinary research team to collate and review the latest knowledge and developments in this exciting research field. The evolutionary perspective of cancer has gained significant international recognition and interest, which is fully understandable given that somatic cellular selection and evolution are elegant explanations for carcinogenesis. Cancer is now generally accepted to be an evolutionary and ecological process with complex interactions between tumor cells and their environment sharing many similarities with organismal evolution. As a critical contribution to this field of research the book is important and relevant for the applications of evolutionary biology to understand the origin of cancers, to control neoplastic progression, and to prevent therapeutic failures. Covers all aspects of the evolution of cancer, appealing to researchers seeking to understand its origins and effects of treatments on its progression, as well as to lecturers in evolutionary medicine Functions as both an introduction to cancer and evolution and a review of the current research on this burgeoning, exciting field, presented by an international group of leading editors and contributors Improves understanding of the origin and the evolution of cancer, aiding efforts to determine how this disease interferes with biotic interactions that govern ecosystems Highlights research that intends to apply evolutionary principles to help predict emergence and metastatic progression with the aim of improving therapies

Download or read book Evolutionary Dynamics written by Martin A. Nowak and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2006-09-29 with total page 390 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At a time of unprecedented expansion in the life sciences, evolution is the one theory that transcends all of biology. Any observation of a living system must ultimately be interpreted in the context of its evolution. Evolutionary change is the consequence of mutation and natural selection, which are two concepts that can be described by mathematical equations. Evolutionary Dynamics is concerned with these equations of life. In this book, Martin A. Nowak draws on the languages of biology and mathematics to outline the mathematical principles according to which life evolves. His work introduces readers to the powerful yet simple laws that govern the evolution of living systems, no matter how complicated they might seem. Evolution has become a mathematical theory, Nowak suggests, and any idea of an evolutionary process or mechanism should be studied in the context of the mathematical equations of evolutionary dynamics. His book presents a range of analytical tools that can be used to this end: fitness landscapes, mutation matrices, genomic sequence space, random drift, quasispecies, replicators, the Prisoner’s Dilemma, games in finite and infinite populations, evolutionary graph theory, games on grids, evolutionary kaleidoscopes, fractals, and spatial chaos. Nowak then shows how evolutionary dynamics applies to critical real-world problems, including the progression of viral diseases such as AIDS, the virulence of infectious agents, the unpredictable mutations that lead to cancer, the evolution of altruism, and even the evolution of human language. His book makes a clear and compelling case for understanding every living system—and everything that arises as a consequence of living systems—in terms of evolutionary dynamics.

Download or read book Frontiers in Cancer Research written by Carlo C. Maley and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-11-21 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the ideal book for anyone contemplating starting a career in, or shifting their career to, studying the dynamics that drive cancer progression and its response to therapy. Topics include the theory and population genetics of cancers, genetic diversity within tumors (intra-tumor heterogeneity), understanding how mutant clones expand in tissues, the role of cancer stem cells in the dynamics of tumors, the evolution of metastasis, and how to improve cancer therapy by addressing the evolution of cancers in response to our interventions. There are also chapters on the patterns of cancer susceptibility in humans due to a mismatch between our modern environment and the environment in which our ancestors evolved, as well as a chapter on the evolution of cancer suppression mechanisms that have evolved in different species, particularly the large long-lived animals like elephants and whales that are better at suppressing cancers than humans. This book serves as a primer on the evolutionary and ecological theory of cancer- the framework upon which all the details of cancer may be hung. It is ideal for oncologists and cancer researchers interested in evolutionary theory, and evolutionary biologists and ecologists interested in gaining insights into cancer development and prevention.

Download or read book Cancer Evolution written by Charles Swanton and published by Perspectives Cshl. This book was released on 2017 with total page 350 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tumor progression is driven by mutations that confer growth advantages to different subpopulations of cancer cells. As a tumor grows, these subpopulations expand, accumulate new mutations, and are subjected to selective pressures from the environment, including anticancer interventions. This process, termed clonal evolution, can lead to the emergence of therapy-resistant tumors and poses a major challenge for cancer eradication efforts. Written and edited by experts in the field, this collection from Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine examines cancer progression as an evolutionary process and explores how this way of looking at cancer may lead to more effective strategies for managing and treating it. The contributors review efforts to characterize the subclonal architecture and dynamics of tumors, understand the roles of chromosomal instability, driver mutations, and mutation order, and determine how cancer cells respond to selective pressures imposed by anticancer agents, immune cells, and other components of the tumor microenvironment. They compare cancer evolution to organismal evolution and describe how ecological theories and mathematical models are being used to understand the complex dynamics between a tumor and its microenvironment during cancer progression. The authors also discuss improved methods to monitor tumor evolution (e.g., liquid biopsies) and the development of more effective strategies for managing and treating cancers (e.g., immunotherapies). This volume will therefore serve as a vital reference for all cancer biologists as well as anyone seeking to improve clinical outcomes for patients with cancer.

Download or read book Genome Chaos written by Henry H. Heng and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2019-05-25 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Genome Chaos: Rethinking Genetics, Evolution, and Molecular Medicine transports readers from Mendelian Genetics to 4D-genomics, building a case for genes and genomes as distinct biological entities, and positing that the genome, rather than individual genes, defines system inheritance and represents a clear unit of selection for macro-evolution. In authoring this thought-provoking text, Dr. Heng invigorates fresh discussions in genome theory and helps readers reevaluate their current understanding of human genetics, evolution, and new pathways for advancing molecular and precision medicine. Bridges basic research and clinical application and provides a foundation for re-examining the results of large-scale omics studies and advancing molecular medicine Gathers the most pressing questions in genomic and cytogenomic research Offers alternative explanations to timely puzzles in the field Contains eight evidence-based chapters that discuss 4d-genomics, genes and genomes as distinct biological entities, genome chaos and macro-cellular evolution, evolutionary cytogenetics and cancer, chromosomal coding and fuzzy inheritance, and more

Download or read book The Physics of Cancer written by Caterina A. M. La Porta and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-04-20 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of theoretical and experimental contributions to cancer research from different fields of physics, from biomechanics and soft-condensed matter physics to the statistical mechanics of complex systems. Reviewing these contributions and providing a sophisticated overview of the topic, this is the first book devoted to the emerging interdisciplinary field of cancer physics. Systematically integrating approaches from physics and biology, it includes topics such as cancer initiation and progression, metastasis, angiogenesis, cancer stem cells, tumor immunology, cancer cell mechanics and migration. Biological hallmarks of cancer are presented in an intuitive yet comprehensive way, providing graduate-level students and researchers in physics with a thorough introduction to this important subject. The impact of the physical mechanisms of cancer are explained through analytical and computational models, making this an essential reference for cancer biologists interested in cutting-edge quantitative tools and approaches coming from physics.

Download or read book Evolution by Tumor Neofunctionalization written by Andrei P. Kozlov and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2014-02-15 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evolution by Tumor Neofunctionalization explores the possibility of the positive role of tumors in evolution of multicellular organisms. This unique perspective goes beyond recent publications on how evolution may influence tumors, to consider the possible role of tumors in evolution. Widespread in nature tumors represent a much broader category than malignant tumors only. The majority of tumors in humans and other animals may never undergo malignant transformation. Tumors may differentiate with the loss of malignancy, and malignant tumors may spontaneously regress. Cellular oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes play roles in normal development. Many features of tumors could be used in evolution, and there are examples of tumors that have played a role in evolution. This book will stimulate thinking on this topic by specialists in the fields of evolutionary biology, oncology, molecular biology, molecular evolution, embryology, evo-devo, tumor immunology, pathology and clinical oncology. Covers the role that tumors might play in evolution. Provides multidisciplinary approach that will appeal to a wide circle of professionals in the fields of evolutionary biology, oncology, molecular biology, and more

Download or read book Tumor Organoids written by Shay Soker and published by Humana Press. This book was released on 2017-10-20 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cancer cell biology research in general, and anti-cancer drug development specifically, still relies on standard cell culture techniques that place the cells in an unnatural environment. As a consequence, growing tumor cells in plastic dishes places a selective pressure that substantially alters their original molecular and phenotypic properties.The emerging field of regenerative medicine has developed bioengineered tissue platforms that can better mimic the structure and cellular heterogeneity of in vivo tissue, and are suitable for tumor bioengineering research. Microengineering technologies have resulted in advanced methods for creating and culturing 3-D human tissue. By encapsulating the respective cell type or combining several cell types to form tissues, these model organs can be viable for longer periods of time and are cultured to develop functional properties similar to native tissues. This approach recapitulates the dynamic role of cell–cell, cell–ECM, and mechanical interactions inside the tumor. Further incorporation of cells representative of the tumor stroma, such as endothelial cells (EC) and tumor fibroblasts, can mimic the in vivo tumor microenvironment. Collectively, bioengineered tumors create an important resource for the in vitro study of tumor growth in 3D including tumor biomechanics and the effects of anti-cancer drugs on 3D tumor tissue. These technologies have the potential to overcome current limitations to genetic and histological tumor classification and development of personalized therapies.

Download or read book Philosophy of Cancer written by Marta Bertolaso and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-08-24 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the 1970s, the origin of cancer is being explored from the point of view of the Somatic Mutation Theory (SMT), focusing on genetic mutations and clonal expansion of somatic cells. As cancer research expanded in several directions, the dominant focus on cells remained steady, but the classes of genes and the kinds of extra-genetic factors that were shown to have causal relevance in the onset of cancer multiplied. The wild heterogeneity of cancer-related mutations and phenotypes, along with the increasing complication of models, led to an oscillation between the hectic search of ‘the’ few key factors that cause cancer and the discouragement in face of a seeming ‘endless complexity’. To tame this complexity, cancer research started to avail itself of the tools that were being developed by Systems Biology. At the same time, anti-reductionist voices began claiming that cancer research was stuck in a sterile research paradigm. This alternative discourse even gave birth to an alternative theory: the Tissue Organization Field Theory (TOFT). A deeper philosophical analysis shows limits and possibilities of reductionist and anti-reductionist positions and of their polarization. This book demonstrates that a radical philosophical reflection is necessary to drive cancer research out of its impasses. At the very least, this will be a reflection on the assumptions of different kinds of cancer research, on the implications of what cancer research has been discovering over 40 years and more, on a view of scientific practice that is most able to make sense of the cognitive and social conflicts that are seen in the scientific community (and in its results), and, finally, on the nature of living entities with which we entertain this fascinating epistemological dance that we call scientific research. The proposed Dynamic and Relational View of carcinogenesis is a starting point in all these directions.

Download or read book Branching Process Models of Cancer written by Richard Durrett and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-06-20 with total page 63 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume develops results on continuous time branching processes and applies them to study rate of tumor growth, extending classic work on the Luria-Delbruck distribution. As a consequence, the author calculate the probability that mutations that confer resistance to treatment are present at detection and quantify the extent of tumor heterogeneity. As applications, the author evaluate ovarian cancer screening strategies and give rigorous proofs for results of Heano and Michor concerning tumor metastasis. These notes should be accessible to students who are familiar with Poisson processes and continuous time Markov chains. Richard Durrett is a mathematics professor at Duke University, USA. He is the author of 8 books, over 200 journal articles, and has supervised more than 40 Ph.D students. Most of his current research concerns the applications of probability to biology: ecology, genetics and most recently cancer.

Download or read book Cancer RNome Nature Evolution written by Mansi Arora and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-11-02 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the last decade, researchers working in the field of cancer biology have shifted their focus from genetic defects to epigenetic dysregulation, especially that of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). This book encompasses a comprehensive review of the transcriptional landscape of the cell and its involvement in the cancer pathophysiology. The first two chapters elucidate the basics of biosynthesis, mechanism of action and modulation of the epigenetic regulation of gene expression by coding as well as non-coding RNAs. The third chapter discusses the aberrant expression of the cellular RNome in the cancer cells and highlights its role in the orchestration of processes involved in evolution as well as the sustenance of cancer cells. The fourth chapter describes the recent advances in the field of translating the transcriptome into diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and as targets for novel anti-cancer therapies. The final chapter then reviews the emerging experimental approaches to screen, identify and explore the functions of ncRNAs. Providing valuable insights into the field of RNome in the context of cancer, this book is helpful to students, researchers and clinicians..

Download or read book Game Theoretical Models in Biology written by Mark Broom and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2013-03-27 with total page 522 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Covering the major topics of evolutionary game theory, Game-Theoretical Models in Biology presents both abstract and practical mathematical models of real biological situations. It discusses the static aspects of game theory in a mathematically rigorous way that is appealing to mathematicians. In addition, the authors explore many applications of game theory to biology, making the text useful to biologists as well. The book describes a wide range of topics in evolutionary games, including matrix games, replicator dynamics, the hawk-dove game, and the prisoner’s dilemma. It covers the evolutionarily stable strategy, a key concept in biological games, and offers in-depth details of the mathematical models. Most chapters illustrate how to use MATLAB® to solve various games. Important biological phenomena, such as the sex ratio of so many species being close to a half, the evolution of cooperative behavior, and the existence of adornments (for example, the peacock’s tail), have been explained using ideas underpinned by game theoretical modeling. Suitable for readers studying and working at the interface of mathematics and the life sciences, this book shows how evolutionary game theory is used in the modeling of these diverse biological phenomena.

Download or read book Physics of Cancer written by Claudia Mierke and published by Iph001. This book was released on 2018-10-24 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This revised second edition is improved linguistically with multiple increases of the number of figures and the inclusion of several novel chapters such as actin filaments during matrix invasion, microtubuli during migration and matrix invasion, nuclear deformability during migration and matrix invasion, and the active role of the tumor stroma in regulating cell invasion.

Download or read book Oxford Textbook of Cancer Biology written by Francesco Pezzella and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-02 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The study of the biology of tumours has grown to become markedly interdisciplinary, involving chemists, statisticians, epidemiologists, mathematicians, bioinformaticians, and computer scientists alongside biologists, geneticists, and clinicians. The Oxford Textbook of Cancer Biology brings together the most up-to-date developments from different branches of research into one coherent volume, providing a comprehensive and current account of this rapidly evolving field. Structured in eight sections, the book starts with a review of the development and biology of multi-cellular organisms, how they maintain a healthy homeostasis in an individual, and a description of the molecular basis of cancer development. The book then illustrates, as once cells become neoplastic, their signalling network is altered and pathological behaviour follows. It explores the changes that cancer cells can induce in nearby normal tissue, the new relationship established between them and the stroma, and the interaction between the immune system and tumour growth. The authors illustrate the contribution provided by high throughput techniques to map cancer at different levels, from genomic sequencing to cellular metabolic functions, and how information technology, with its vast amounts of data, is integrated with traditional cell biology to provide a global view of the disease. The effect of the different types of treatments on the biology of the neoplastic cells are explored to understand on the one side, why some treatments succeed, and on the other, how they can affect the biology of resistant and recurrent disease. The book concludes by summarizing what we know to date about cancer, and in what direction our understanding of cancer is moving. Edited by leading authorities in the field with an international team of contributors, this book is an essential resource for scholars and professionals working in the wide variety of sub-disciplines that make up today's cancer research and treatment community. It is written not only for consultation, but also for easy cover-to-cover reading.