Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Mathematics reveals genetic pattern of tumor growth

Mathematics reveals genetic pattern of tumor growth

June 25, 2007

Using mathematical theory, UC Irvine scientists have shed light on one of cancer's most troubling puzzles - how cancer cells can alter their own genetic makeup to accelerate tumor growth. The discovery shows for the first time why this change occurs, providing insight into how cancerous tumors thrive and a potential foundation for future cancer treatments.

UCI mathematicians Natalia Komarova, Alexander Sadovsky and Frederic Wan looked at cancer from the point of view of a tumor and asked: What can a tumor do to optimize its own growth? They focused on the phenomenon of genetic instability, a common feature of cancer in which cells mutate at an abnormally fast rate. These mutations can cause cancer cells to grow, or they can cause the cells to die.




The scientists found that cancerous tumors grow best when they are very unstable in early stages of development and become stable in later stages. In other words, tumors thrive when cancerous cells mutate to speed up malignant transformation, and then stay that way by turning off the mutation rate.

The study appeared this week in the Royal Society journal Interface.

"Mathematical theory can help us understand cancer," said Komarova, associate professor of mathematics at UCI. "If we know what cancer is doing, we might be able to find ways to fight it."

Previous studies have observed this genetic pattern by using laboratory techniques, but the UCI research is the first to explain why the pattern leads to tumor growth. The occurrence of genetic instability is often debated by cancer scientists, some of whom believe that cancer feeds on this instability and others who believe it is a side-effect of the cancer itself.

To determine the pattern of genetic changes that leads to the most robust tumor growth, Komarova and her colleagues used a mathematical technique called optimal control theory in which they considered a tumor with set characteristics, then changed the cell mutation variable to see under which circumstances the tumor grew best.

"The mutation rate serves as the control knob. Then, we can calculate mathematically how long it takes a tumor with given parameters to reach a certain size," Komarova said. "We found that at early stages of tumor growth, instability is advantageous, and later on it becomes an impediment. This explains why many tumors exhibit a high level of instability at first, and become stable later in their development."

This research was supported by a Sloan Fellowship and grants from the National Institutes of Health.

The University of California, Irvine



Related Tumor Growth Current Events and Tumor Growth News Articles Tumor Growth Current Events and Tumor Growth News RSS Tumor Growth Current Events and Tumor Growth News RSS
Linheng Li proposes novel theory for mammalian stem cell regulation
Linheng Li, Ph.D., Investigator, together with Hans Clevers, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Hubrecht Institute in Utrecht, Netherlands, co-authored a prospective review published today by the journal Science that proposes a model of mammalian adult stem cell regulation that may explain how the coexistence of two disparate stem cell states regulates both stem cell maintenance and simultaneously supports rapid tissue regeneration.

CSHL study identifies potential way to reverse cancer cell metabolism and tumor growth
A team of scientists led by Professor Adrian Krainer, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has discovered molecular factors in cancer cells that boost the production of an enzyme that helps alter the cells' glucose metabolism.

Lack of cellular enzyme triggers switch in glucose processing
A study investigating how a cellular enzyme affects blood glucose levels in mice provides clues to pathways that may be involved in processes including the regulation of longevity and the proliferation of tumor cells.

Cell of Origin Identified for Common Type of Breast Cancer
A study by researchers at Tufts University School of Medicine, the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts, and Tufts Medical Center improves our current understanding of the origins of breast cancer.

Researchers find a treatment for deadly brain tumor
New research at Rhode Island Hospital has identified a treatment in animal models for glioblastomas - deadly brain tumors which, once diagnosed, offer a poor prognosis and relatively short life expectancy.

Scientists show how brain tumors outsmart drugs
Researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores UCSD Cancer Center have shown one way in which gliomas, a deadly type of brain tumor, can evade drugs aimed at blocking a key cell signaling protein, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR),that is crucial for tumor growth.

Cellular communication in the cancer microenvironment
In the February 1st issue of G&D, Dr. Johanna Joyce and colleagues at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center lend new insight into the mechanism by which tumor-associated macrophages promote malignant progression.

Gender-biased heart damage
A man's male hormones may ward off heart damage by helping vessels around the heart regenerate, suggest Australian researchers in a report posted January 13 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Melanoma stem cells' evasive talents
Melanoma, if not detected in its early stages, transforms into a highly deadly, treatment-resistant cancer. Although the immune system initially responds to melanoma and mounts anti-tumor attacks, these assaults are generally ineffective, allowing more advanced melanomas to win the battle and spread beyond the primary site.

Blocking nuclear receptor may cut off tumor blood supply
A new method of blocking the genesis of blood vessels that feed tumors may start with the nuclear receptor COUP-TFII (chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter-transcription factor II), said a pair of Baylor College of Medicine researchers who have studied the factor for more than 20 years.
More Tumor Growth Current Events and Tumor Growth News Articles
Cancer Immunotherapy: Immune Suppression and Tumor Growth

Cancer Immunotherapy: Immune Suppression and Tumor Growth
by George C. Prendergast (Editor), Elizabeth M. Jaffee (Editor)

There has been major growth in understanding immune suppression mechanisms and its relationship to cancer progression and therapy. This book highlights emerging new principles of immune suppression that drive cancer and it offers radically new ideas about how therapy can be improved by attacking these principles. Following work that firmly establishes immune escape as an essential trait of cancer, recent studies have now defined specific mechanisms of tumoral immune suppression. It also demonstrates how attacking tumors with molecular targeted therapeutics or traditional chemotherapeutic drugs can produce potent anti-tumor effects in preclinical models. This book provides basic, translational, and clinical cancer researchers an indispensable overview of immune escape as a critical trait...

  No. 571(Tumors, Growths) 1 oz
by PROGRESSIVE LABS



Charlie Rose with Anthony Robbins (July 19, 2000)

Charlie Rose with Anthony Robbins (July 19, 2000)

Motivational speaker Anthony Robbins on his unusual career advising everyone from Andre Agassi and President Clinton to the IBM Corporation and the United States Army and the launch of his new website, www.dreamlife.com.

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Olympian Labs Ip-6, Inositol Hexaphosphate

Olympian Labs Ip-6, Inositol Hexaphosphate
by Olympian Labs

Inositol hexaphosphate, Phytate or Phytic Acid, is a sugar molecule attached to six phosphate molecules. It is found throughout nature, in wheat and rice bran, legumes such as soybeans and virtually every kind of mammalian cell. It plays an important role in regulating vital cellular functions, including cell proliferation and differentiation. There has been research on human liver Long standing problems cells that were treated with inositol hexaphosphate and transplanted into mice. They found that inositol hexaphosphate slowed or stopped the growth of liver Long standing problems cells and shrank existing tumors three- to four-fold. Inositol hexaphosphate does not kill Long standing problems cells it tames them and makes them behave like normal cells. Inositol hexaphosphate decreases...

  Doubling time: toward understanding an abstruse concept.(tumor growth; litigation concerning misdiagnosis): An article from: Defense Counsel Journal
by James J. Stark (Author)

This digital document is an article from Defense Counsel Journal, published by International Association of Defense Counsels on April 1, 1998. The length of the article is 3487 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Doubling time: toward understanding an abstruse concept.(tumor growth; litigation concerning misdiagnosis)
Author: James J. Stark
Publication: Defense Counsel Journal (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 1998
Publisher: International Association of Defense Counsels
Volume: 65 Issue: 2 Page: 277

Distributed by Thomson...

  Two drugs halted tumor growth in lung cancer.(Clinical Rounds): An article from: Family Practice News
by Erik L. Goldman (Author)

This digital document is an article from Family Practice News, published by International Medical News Group on September 1, 2004. The length of the article is 595 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Two drugs halted tumor growth in lung cancer.(Clinical Rounds)
Author: Erik L. Goldman
Publication: Family Practice News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 1, 2004
Publisher: International Medical News Group
Volume: 34 Issue: 17 Page: 60(1)

Distributed by Thomson...

  Peregrine's phospholipid-targeted antibodies fused wth cytokines reduce tumor growth.: An article from: BIOTECH Patent News
by Gale Reference Team (Author)

This digital document is an article from BIOTECH Patent News, published by Thomson Gale on September 1, 2006. The length of the article is 654 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Peregrine's phospholipid-targeted antibodies fused wth cytokines reduce tumor growth.
Author: Gale Reference Team
Publication: BIOTECH Patent News (Newsletter)
Date: September 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 20 Issue: 9

Distributed by Thomson...

  Mechanism of tumor growth in crowngall
by Erwin F Smith (Author)



Growth Factors and Tumor Promotion: Implications for Risk Assessment

Growth Factors and Tumor Promotion: Implications for Risk Assessment
by Tex.) International Conference on Carcinogenesis and Risk Assessment (7th : 1993 : Austin (Author), Thomas J. Slaga (Editor), Robert Leboeuf (Editor), Henry Pitot (Editor), R. Michael McClain (Editor)

Hoffman LaRoche, Inc., Nutley, New Jersey. Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Carcinogenesis and Risk Assessment held December 1-4, 1993, in Austin, Texas.

Wheat Grass - Reduces growth of tumors, fights unfriendly bacteria, increases energy, 2 oz., (Health Herb),(Health Herbs)

Wheat Grass - Reduces growth of tumors, fights unfriendly bacteria, increases energy, 2 oz., (Health Herb),(Health Herbs)
by Health Herbs

Wheatgrass is a rich nutritional food and blood cleanser. WHEAT GRASS (Triticum aestirem) Uses: Reduces growth of tumors, fights unfriendly bacteria, increases energy, reduces toxins in the blood, nourishes and cleanses the colon. Description: Wheatgrass is a rich nutritional food and blood clean

© 2010 BrightSurf.com