Development of subpopulations as a strategy for cancer growth

S.A. MENCHÓN; C.A. CONDAT

Buenos Aires

Congreso; XIV International Biophysics Congress; 2002

International Union for Pure and Applied Biophysics

The local abundance of oxygen and nutrients is a determinant of cancer growth. There are two very different pathways to accelerate this growth. The first, angiogenesis, operates by increasing the supply of oxygen and nutrients; the second, the development of mutated cancer cell subpopulations, operates on the demand end by leading to a more profitable utilization of available nutrients. We study how the emergence of a second subspecies, characterized by altered nutrient intake and utilization rates modifies the evolution and morphology of a tumor. The appearance of a subpopulation without competitive advantages will not significantly affect growth patterns, while the emergence of a subpopulation whose members can focus their nutrient utilization on proliferation will drastically increase their overall growth rate. The new subpopulation will tend to propagate in tissue regions where the competition with the initial species is reduced, generating the development of micrometastases and the eventual reduction of the tumor mass corresponding to the original species.