The study used a form of mathematical analysis called evolutionary dynamics to look at how malignant mutations evolve in both stem and non-stem cells in colorectal and intestinal cancers.
‘Applied mathematics has the potential to give oncologists a kind of road map to track the progression of a particular cancer.’
"Using applied math to map out the evolution of cancer has the potential to give oncologists a kind of road map to track the progression of a particular cancer and essentially captures crucial details of the evolution of the disease." said Mohammad Kohandel, an associate professor of applied mathematics at Waterloo. "Combining the use of applied math with previous research advances in cancer biology, can contribute to a much deeper understanding of this disease on several fronts."
The study found when cancer stem cells divide and replicate, the new cells that are created can be substantially different from the original cell. This characteristic can have a substantial impact on the progression of cancer in both positive and negative ways and the use of math can help better predict cell behaviour.
The study also concluded that this type of analysis may be useful in preventing the emergence of cancer cells, in addition to helping develop more intense and effective treatments.
"Being able to predict the evolution of cancer cells could be crucial to tailoring treatments that will target them effectively," said Siv Sivaloganathan, a professor and chair of the department of applied mathematics, at Waterloo. "It may also help avoid the drug-induced resistance known to develop in many cancers.
"In addition to predicting the behaviour of cancer cells, this mathematical framework can also be applied more generally to other areas, including population genetics and ecology."
Source: Eurekalert
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I predicted this back in the 1990s.I also presented a paper, the Viroid Thermodynamic Theory on the Origin of Life at the University of Guelph circa 1990. It was also read by Dr.James Lovelock of the Royal Academy and adviser to NASA. It ties in Chaos theory to genome development. Gald to see the scientific community is catching up .E.A.Greenhalgh