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bioRxiv · 10.1101/217851

Adaptive dynamics of unstable cancer populations: the canonical equation

Aguade, G.·Sole, R.
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Abstract

In most instances of tumour development, genetic instability plays a role in allowing cancer cell populations to respond to selection barriers, such as physical constraints or immune responses, and rapidly adapt to an always changing environment. Modelling instability is a nontrivial task, since by definition evolving changing instability leads to changes in the underlying landscape. In this paper we explore mathematically a simple version of unstable tumor progression using the formalism of Adaptive Dynamics (AD) where selection and mutation are explicitly coupled. Using a set of basic fitness landscapes, the so called canonical equation for the evolution of genetic instability on a minimal scenario associated to a population of unstable cells is derived. The implications and potential extensions of this model are discussed.

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Aguade, G., Sole, R.. 2017-11-10. Adaptive dynamics of unstable cancer populations: the canonical equation. https://doi.org/10.1101/217851

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