Tumor growth mathematics studied

IRVINE, Calif., June 25 (UPI) -- A U.S. mathematical study has led researchers to a better understanding of how cancer cells alter their genetic makeup to accelerate tumor growth.

University of California-Irvine scientists said the study has shown, for the first time, why such alternations occur and how they allow cancerous tumors to thrive.

University of California-Irvine mathematicians Natalia Komarova, Alexander Sadovsky and Frederic Wan focused on the phenomenon of genetic instability, a common feature of cancer in which cells mutate at an abnormally fast rate. Those mutations can cause cancer cells to grow or they can cause the cells to die.

The scientists found tumors grow best when they are very unstable during the early stages of development and become stable in later stages. In other words, tumors thrive when cancerous cells mutate to speed up malignant transformation and stay that way by turning off the mutation rate.

"Mathematical theory can help us understand cancer," said Komarova. "If we know what cancer is doing, we might be able to find ways to fight it."

The study appears in the Royal Society journal Interface.