Moffitt PSOC Here we focus on two deeply interconnected physical science questions: How do we study, quantify, integrate, and model the complexity of cancer biology and treatment across multiple length and time scales that form the tumor ecology? and Can the evolutionary dynamics of therapeutic resistance be exploited through dynamic spatio-temporal models to optimize treatments and improve the lives of patients with cancer? We propose that cancer must be investigated and treated as a complex adaptive systems in which the underlying first principles are Darwinian. We view intratumoral evolution as a dynamical interaction between environmental selection forces and tumor adaptive strategies to maximize fitness. A critical property of cancer complex system is that it is open and thus can be perturbed by host response and iatrogenic interventions. Thus, the multi-scale (e.g. molecular, cellular and tissue scales) spatio-temporal variations within and between cancers (i.e. the ecology of cancer) is dependent in large part on the open components of the system such as alterations in blood flow that affect local environmental conditions and subsequent cellular adaptive strategies. Similarly, the Darwinian response to therapy will vary within each habitat within the tumor ecology and must be understood to design consistently effective therapies. We approach these questions in two different ways: In project 1 we focus on fundamental principles - the cancer cell evolutionary dynamics and molecular mechanisms that permit adaptation to host-generated perturbations including blood flow and treatment strategies. Here the focus will be on sophisticated in-vitro and in-vivo experimental methods integrated with Darwinian-based mathematical models. A key deliverable from Project 1 is identification of novel therapeutic strategies that can exploit these evolutionary dynamics and molecular mechanism to improve clinical therapy. In Project 2 we will focus on developing computational models that use first principles and available clinical data to: 1. understand the patient-specific dynamics that govern response and resistance and 2. develop computational models that predict the outcomes of different therapies (e.g. multidrug chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and hormone therapy ) in individual patients. In the longer term our goal is to increase the scope of these models to permit design of patient-specific therapy to optimize overall survival. The deliverable from Project 2, therefore, include development of methods to extract maximum amounts of information from clinically available data and development of computational models to optimize clinical therapy using often sparse dynamic data. Both Projects will interact extensively with a core focused on developing computational models and applying sophisticated analytic methods to extract maximum knowledge from available molecular, pathological, and radiological clinical data.

Public Health Relevance

PSOC We propose the complicated components and interactions that form a cancer must be viewed as a complex dynamical system. To understand cancer and its treatment, we must learn from successful approaches to complex systems pioneered in the physical sciences. This will require a multidisciplinary approach combining optimal data acquisition, application of Darwinian first principles, and development of sophisticated computational models.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Type
Specialized Center--Cooperative Agreements (U54)
Project #
3U54CA193489-05S5
Application #
10134503
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZCA1)
Program Officer
Zahir, Nastaran Z
Project Start
2015-09-23
Project End
2021-08-31
Budget Start
2019-09-01
Budget End
2021-08-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute
Department
Type
DUNS #
139301956
City
Tampa
State
FL
Country
United States
Zip Code
33612
Subramanian, Hemachander; Gatenby, Robert A (2018) Evolutionary advantage of directional symmetry breaking in self-replicating polymers. J Theor Biol 446:128-136
Shah, Seema; Brock, Ethan J; Jackson, Ryan M et al. (2018) Downregulation of Rap1Gap: A Switch from DCIS to Invasive Breast Carcinoma via ERK/MAPK Activation. Neoplasia 20:951-963
Karolak, Aleksandra; Rejniak, Katarzyna A (2018) Micropharmacology: An In Silico Approach for Assessing Drug Efficacy Within a Tumor Tissue. Bull Math Biol :
Shah, Seema; Brock, Ethan J; Ji, Kyungmin et al. (2018) Ras and Rap1: A tale of two GTPases. Semin Cancer Biol :
Gallaher, Jill A; Enriquez-Navas, Pedro M; Luddy, Kimberly A et al. (2018) Spatial Heterogeneity and Evolutionary Dynamics Modulate Time to Recurrence in Continuous and Adaptive Cancer Therapies. Cancer Res 78:2127-2139
Maley, Carlo C; Aktipis, Athena; Graham, Trevor A et al. (2017) Classifying the evolutionary and ecological features of neoplasms. Nat Rev Cancer 17:605-619
Ibrahim-Hashim, Arig; Robertson-Tessi, Mark; Enriquez-Navas, Pedro M et al. (2017) Defining Cancer Subpopulations by Adaptive Strategies Rather Than Molecular Properties Provides Novel Insights into Intratumoral Evolution. Cancer Res 77:2242-2254
Brown, Joel S; Cunningham, Jessica J; Gatenby, Robert A (2017) Aggregation Effects and Population-Based Dynamics as a Source of Therapy Resistance in Cancer. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 64:512-518
Gatenby, Robert A; Brown, Joel (2017) Mutations, evolution and the central role of a self-defined fitness function in the initiation and progression of cancer. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer 1867:162-166
Silva, Ariosto; Silva, Maria C; Sudalagunta, Praneeth et al. (2017) An Ex Vivo Platform for the Prediction of Clinical Response in Multiple Myeloma. Cancer Res 77:3336-3351

Showing the most recent 10 out of 22 publications