Program
| MSG3a | |
|---|---|
| Mohammad Kohandel | |
| University of Waterloo | |
| Title | Examining the implications of the cancer stem cell hypothesis in solid tumours |
| Abstract | The emerging cancer stem cell hypothesis indicates that only a (typically small) sub-population of so-called "cancer stem cells" has the capacity to drive and maintain tumor growth. Cancer stem cells have been putatively identified in leukemias and, more recently, in a variety of solid tumors including those of the breast and brain. This hypothesis helps to explain certain clinically observed phenomena, such as the apparent inability of conventional anti-cancer therapies to eradicate the disease despite (transient) reduction of overall tumor bulk. We begin with an introduction to the biology of cancer stem cells, and proceed to discuss mathematical models of tumor growth based on the cancer stem cell hypothesis. These models are applied to discussions of the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme, a common type of brain cancer believed to be maintained by cancer stem cells, and to the phenomenon of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, a process recently implicated in generating cancer cells capable of metastasis. |
| Location | Woodward 3 |