A new concept for cancer therapy: out-competing the aggressor
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Deisboeck_a new concept for cancer therapy.pdf
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Author(s)
Deisboeck, Thomas S.
Wang, Zhihui
Date Issued
December 2008
Journal
Cancer Cell International
Publisher
BioMed Central Ltd.
Citation
Deisboeck, Thomas, and Zhihui Wang. “A new concept for cancer therapy: out-competing the aggressor.” Cancer Cell International 8.1 (2008): 19.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Cancer expansion depends on host organ conditions that permit growth. Since such
microenvironmental nourishment is limited we argue here that an autologous, therapeutically
engineered and faster metabolizing cell strain could potentially out-compete native cancer cell
populations for available resources which in turn should contain further cancer growth. This
hypothesis aims on turning cancer progression, and its microenvironmental dependency, into a
therapeutic opportunity. To illustrate our concept, we developed a three-dimensional
computational model that allowed us to investigate the growth dynamics of native tumor cells
mixed with genetically engineered cells that exhibit a higher proliferation rate. The simulation
results confirm in silico efficacy of such therapeutic cells to combating cancer cells on site in that
they can indeed control tumor growth once their proliferation rate exceeds a certain level. While
intriguing from a theoretical perspective, this bold, innovative ecology-driven concept bears some
significant challenges that warrant critical discussion in the community for further refinement.
MIT Department
Harvard University--MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology
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Creative Commons Attribution
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2867-8-19
