Special Session
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Mathematical models of cell migration, tumor growth and cancer dynamics |
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Introduction:
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Cancer is a complex, multi-scale process, in which genetic mutations occurring at a sub-cellular level manifest themselves as functional changes at the cellular and tissue scale. The main aim of this session is to discuss current stages and challenges in modeling tumor growth and developing therapeutic strategies. Specific goals of the session include: (i) to analyze both computational and analytical solutions to mathematical models from tumor modeling (ii) to discuss creative ways of laboratory experimentation for better clinical diagnosis (iii) to improve our biochemical/biomechanical understanding of fundamental mechanism of tumor growth such as analysis of signaling pathways in relative balances between oncogenes and suppressors. Both the immediate microenvironment (cell-cell or cell-matrix interactions) and the extended microenvironment (e.g. vascular bed) are considered to play crucial roles in tumour progression as well as suppression. Microenvironment is known to control tumor growth and cancer cell invasion to surrounding stromal tissue. However, it also prohibits therapeutics from accessing the tumor cells, thus causing drug resistance. Therefore, a thorough understanding of the microenvironment would provide a foundation to generate new strategies in therapeutic drug development. At the cellular level, cancer cell migration is a main step for metastasis and further progression of cancer and metastasis in a given microenvironment. Thus, understanding of cell motility under the control of signal transduction pathways would improve technical and specific advances in cancer therapy by targeting the specific pathways that are associated with the diseases. Analysis of mathematical models would identify fundamental (abstract) structure of the model system and shed a light on our understanding of tumor growth in the specific host tissue environment and biochemical and biomechanical interactions between players in cancer progression. More comprehensive multi-scale (hybrid) models can be used to meet the needs of designing patient-specific agents. The focus of this session is threefold: (a) to present mathematical models of tumor growth and analysis of the models (b) to discuss therapeutic strategies for curing the disease and to showcase mathematical models incorporating mechanical aspects of cancer cell movement and clinical implications (c) see recent development of cell-mechanical aspect of cell-ECM interactions. |
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