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Understanding the diversity of cancer evolution based on computational simulation
-Constructing a mathematical basis for developing therapeutic strategies against cancer using a supercomputer-

Understanding the diversity of cancer evolution based on computational simulation 
―Constructing a mathematical basis for developing therapeutic strategies against cancer using a supercomputer-

PeerJ on April 8, 2020.  DOI: DOI 10.7717/peerj.8842
Atsushi Niida*, Takanori Hasegawa, Hideki Innan, Tatsuhiro Shibata, Koshi Mim
ori and Satoru Miyano.
A unified simulation model for understanding the diversity of cancer evolution
URL: http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8842
Cancer can be regarded as a disease of evolution, which results from natural selection of cells with high proliferative and malignant potential, following the accumulation of mutations in their genomes. Moreover, because cancer has a high evolutionary potential, it easily adapts to treatment-related changes in its environment and acquires therapeutic resistance (*1), 

Previous genomic studies have shown that cancer evolution can be roughly divided into four modes of evolution. However, it has remained unclear what conditions give rise to each mode. Therefore, A research group at The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (IMSUT) have built a unified evolutionary simulation model that can recapitulate a variety of evolutionary modes. 

By performing massively parallel simulation(*2) with various conditions on SHIROKANE, a supercomputer at IMSUT, the research group determined the conditions under which each evolution mode is generated. By providing a mathematical basis for understanding cancer evolution, this study is expected to contribute to the understanding of therapeutic resistance in cancer and the development of novel therapeutic strategies.
(*1) Therapeutic resistance
A phenomenon in which cancer shows resistance to anti-cancer drug therapies. Even If a tumor in an advanced stage responds to a therapy and temporarily shrinks, it almost always regrows by gaining therapeutic resistance.

(*2) Massively parallel simulation
Preforming thousands of simulations simultaneously on a supercomputer. The computing power of SHIROKANE, the supercomputer used in this study, is several thousand times greater than that of a personal computer.
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