On the proportion of cancer stem cells in a tumour

Matthew D. Johnston (1, 2) , Philip K. Maini (1, 3) , S. Jonathan Chapman (2) , Carina M. Edwards (4) , Walter F. Bodmer (5)

1 Centre for Mathematical Biology, Mathematical Institute
2 MI - Mathematical Institute [Oxford]
3 Oxford Centre for Integrative Systems Biology; Department of Biochemistry; University of Oxford; South Parks Road; Oxford OX1 3QU; United Kingdom
4 Centre for Modelling and Simulation in the Biosciences (BIOMS)
5 Cancer and Immunogenetics Laboratory; Cancer Research UK; Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine [John Radcliffe Hospital]

It is now generally accepted that cancers contain a sub-population, the cancer stem cells (CSCs), that initiate and drive a tumour's growth. At least until recently it has been widely assumed that only a small proportion of the cells in a tumour are CSCs. Here we use a mathematical model, supported by experimental evidence, to show that such an assumption is unwarranted. We show that CSCs may comprise any possible proportion of the tumour, and that the higher the proportion the more aggressive the tumour is likely to be.

Mots clés: Cancer progression; Mathematical model; Feedback

Matthew D. Johnston, Philip K. Maini, S. Jonathan Chapman, Carina M. Edwards, Walter F. Bodmer. On the proportion of cancer stem cells in a tumour. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 2010, 266 (4), pp.708. ⟨10.1016/j.jtbi.2010.07.031⟩. ⟨hal-00620585⟩