An Empirical Model Describing the Evolution of Cancerous Cells

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2015-03-25

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to produce a computational model that can simulate the evolution of cancer. It is well known that cancerous cells result from accumulated mutations in genes that cause the cells to divide much more frequently than ordinary cells. Previous simulations that this model is based on have used hypothetical sets of genes. What sets the model presented in this study apart is that it uses genomes from melanoma cases to predict how much a cell with a certain set of mutations will divide. Since the model is based on real world data instead of theoretical genes it should produce a much more accurate model. Hopefully, this model will be able to provide a better understanding of how cancers develop over time and will help determine which genes are significant in various types of cancer. This model can potentially be used to determine which genes to target with drugs.

Description

Biological Sciences (The Ohio State University Denman Undergraduate Research Forum)

Keywords

Cancer, simulation, kernal density estimation, genome, melanoma, bioinformatics

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