Invited Talk

Effects of geometry on cell competition and survival at growing tumor edges

Worcester State University, 486 Chandler St, Worcester, MA 01602, USA

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The growing edge of a cell mass, such as the frontier of a tumor, can branch or develop a roughening shape with varying curvature as cells compete and divide into unoccupied spaces. The spatial distribution of cells impacts the evolutionary dynamics of the population, which, in the case of cancer, may consist of a wide distribution of mutant strains. For example, mutations occurring in regions with positive curvature are more likely to survive. In branching geometries, portions of the population become causally disconnected and mutations go extinct if they happen to originate on a terminating branch. We show how the survival probability of mutations occurring in such populations depends on geometric quantities including curvature and branching rate. In the case of branching geometries, we demonstrate that mutation survival is enhanced at an optimal branching rate.