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Updated: Jul 4, 2026

A Three-dimensional Model of Spheroids to Study Colon Cancer Stem Cells
Published on: January 22, 2021
Mathematical models of cancer stem cells
1Computational Biology Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 417 East 68th St, New York, NY 10065, USA. michorf@mskcc.org
Abstract:
Human cancers are thought to be sustained in their growth by a pathologic counterpart of normal adult stem cells: cancer stem cells. This concept was first developed in human myeloid leukemias and is today being extended to solid tumors such as breast and brain cancers. A quantitative understanding of cancer stem cells requires a mathematical framework to describe the dynamics of cancer initiation and progression, the response to treatment, and the evolution of resistance. In this review, I use chronic myeloid leukemia as an example to discuss how mathematical and computational techniques have been used to gain insights into the biology of cancer stem cells.
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