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arXiv · 2202.02211

Effects of heterogeneity on cancer: a game theory perspective

Annick Laruelle·André Rocha·Claudia Manini·José I López·Elena Inarra
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Abstract

In this study, we explore interactions between cancer cells by using the hawk-dove game. We analyze the heterogeneity of tumors by considering games with populations composed of 2 or 3 types of cells. We determine what strategies are evolutionarily stable in the 2-type and 3-type population games and the corresponding expected payoffs. Our results show that the payoff of the best-off cell in the 2-type population game is higher than that of the best-off cell in the 3-type population game. Translating these mathematical findings to the field of oncology suggests that a branching-type tumor pursues a less aggressive course than a punctuated-type one. Some histological and genomic data of clear cell renal cell carcinomas are consistent with these results.

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Annick Laruelle, André Rocha, Claudia Manini, José I López, Elena Inarra. 2022-02-04. Effects of heterogeneity on cancer: a game theory perspective. https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.02211

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