Joint fitting reveals hidden interactions in tumor growth

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Mathematical Biology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Tumorigenesis often involves the complex interplay of multiple cancer cell populations.
• Understanding these interactions is critical for deciphering tumor evolution and developing effective therapies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply the vector universality (VUN) formalism to analyze interactions between competing tumor cell populations.
• To quantify growth mechanisms, reconstruct tumor fraction dynamics, and assess the impact of cell shedding on cancer dissemination.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the vector universality (VUN) formalism for quantitative analysis.
• Applied the method to HeLa cell colonies and both in vitro and in vivo tumor models.
• Analyzed time-dependent total mass data to reconstruct population dynamics.

Main Results:

• Quantified growth mechanisms and phenotype switching in HeLa cell colonies.
• Successfully reconstructed the evolution of viable and necrotic tumor fractions using only total mass data.
• Demonstrated that cell shedding benefits both spheroid and subspheroid populations, promoting cancer dissemination.

Conclusions:

• The VUN formalism is a powerful tool for analyzing complex tumor population dynamics.
• Cell shedding is identified as a significant factor promoting cancer spread and progression.
• Insights into tumor growth mechanisms can be gained from analyzing population interactions.