ArticleNature2015
A spatial model predicts that dispersal and cell turnover limit intratumour heterogeneity.
Article in Nature, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 272 papers.
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Who cites it
272 citing papers in PubMed, 518 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Beyond Darwin: reactive heredity, burst-drift dynamics and eco‑evolutionary control of cancer.Molecular cancer · 2026Review
- A Hallmark-Integrated, Agent-Based Framework for Intratumor Heterogeneity in Melanoma Evolution.Bulletin of mathematical biology · 2026Article
- Therapeutic delivery of albumin-binding siRNA targeting IRS2 to diverse cell types reduces mammary tumor growth.Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy · 2026Article
- Genetic barcoding uncovers the clonal makeup of solid and liquid biopsies and their ability to capture intra-tumoral heterogeneity.Molecular systems biology · 2026Article
- Review
- Selective sweep probabilities in spatially expanding populations.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Cancer stem cell heterogeneity‑inspired therapeutics for enhancing tumor treatment outcomes (Review).International journal of oncology · 2026Review
- Simulation-based inference of cell migration dynamics in complex spatial environments.NPJ systems biology and applications · 2026Article
- A hybrid Ornstein-Uhlenbeck-Branching framework unifies microbial and pediatric tumor evolution.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Equations describing semi-confluent cell growth (II) colony formation on a flat surface.European biophysics journal : EBJ · 2025Article
- Extrachromosomal DNA: shaping the evolutionary dynamics of cancer.Trends in cancer · 2025Review
- Longitudinal Circulating Tumor DNA-Guided Resistance Analysis During Second-Line Osimertinib Treatment.JTO clinical and research reports · 2025Article
- Efficient mathematical methodology to determine multistep mutant burden in spatially growing cell populations.PNAS nexus · 2025Article
- Multiscale mathematical model-informed reinforcement learning optimizes combination treatment scheduling in glioblastoma evolution.Science advances · 2025Article
- Unraveling Glioblastoma Heterogeneity: Advancing Immunological Insights and Therapeutic Innovations.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Evolutionary unpredictability in cancer model systems.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Cancer Stem Cells Connecting to Immunotherapy: Key Insights, Challenges, and Potential Treatment Opportunities.Cancers · 2025Review
- Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies for Minority Cell-Induced Paclitaxel Resistance and Tumor Progression Mediated by Mechanical Forces.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
212 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Most cancers in humans are large, measuring centimetres in diameter, and composed of many billions of cells. An equivalent mass of normal cells would be highly heterogeneous as a result of the mutations that occur during each cell division. What is remarkable about cancers is that virtually every neoplastic cell within a large tumour often contains the same core set of genetic alterations, with heterogeneity confined to mutations that emerge late during tumour growth. How such alterations expand within the spatially constrained three-dimensional architecture of a tumour, and come to dominate a large, pre-existing lesion, has been unclear. Here we describe a model for tumour evolution that shows how short-range dispersal and cell turnover can account for rapid cell mixing inside the tumour. We show that even a small selective advantage of a single cell within a large tumour allows the descendants of that cell to replace the precursor mass in a clinically relevant time frame. We also demonstrate that the same mechanisms can be responsible for the rapid onset of resistance to chemotherapy. Our model not only provides insights into spatial and temporal aspects of tumour growth, but also suggests that targeting short-range cellular migratory activity could have marked effects on tumour growth rates.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.