Dedication; Preface; Theory of Cancer; Cell-Level Evolution in Cancer; Organismal-Level Evolution in Cancer; Acknowledgements; Contents; Chapter 1: The Evolutionary Foundations of Cancer Research; 1.1 The Importance of Evolution in Cancer; 1.2 Previous Work: The History of the Evolutionary Theory of Cancer; 1.3 Short-Term Open Questions; 1.3.1 What Are the Mutation Rates of the Different Types of Genetic Alterations in a Given Neoplasm?; 1.3.2 Are There Regularities in the Order of Events in the Phylogenies of a Type of Neoplasm?
1.3.3 What Are the€Limiting Resources for€a€Given Neoplasm, and€Can We€Target Them?1.3.4 Can We€Detect Rare Clones That Are Already Resistant to€a€Given Drug Prior to€Treatment and€Thereby Choose More Effective Drugs?; 1.3.5 Can We€Develop More Effective Drugs by€Testing for€the€Nature and€Likelihood of€Evolving Resistance in€Pre-clinical Models?; 1.3.6 Does the€Simultaneous Application of€Anti-cancer Agents with€Different Mechanisms of€Action Preserve Life Longer Than€the€Serial Application of€Those Agents?; 1.4 Long-Term Open Questions
1.4.1 What Are the Distributions of Times Between Initiation and Clinical Presentation of (Lethal) Cancers?1.4.2 Can We Slow the Rate of Evolution to Prevent Cancer or to Delay Recurrence?; 1.4.3 Can We Increase the Fitness of the Benign State (Called "Benign Cell Boosters"), Thus Inhibiting Malignant Cells Through Competition and Selecting for Malignant Cells to Evolve into Benign Cells?; 1.4.4 Can We Select for a Clinically Manageable Tumor?; 1.4.5 To What Extent Do Neoplasms Lose Robustness, and Can We Exploit That?
1.4.6 Can We€Prolong Life by€Interventions That Do Not Kill Neoplastic Cells but€Rather Prevent the€Proximal Causes of€Cancer Death?1.5 Current Obstacles to€Progress; 1.6 Overcoming the€Obstacles to€Progress; 1.7 Conclusion; Glossary; References; Chapter 2: The Role of€Theory in€Cancer Research; 2.1 The Importance of€Theory in€Cancer Research; 2.2 Previous Work; 2.2.1 Re-considering the€"Magic Bullet" Paradigm for€Cancer Treatment; 2.2.2 Alternatives to€the€"Magic Bullet" Paradigm for€Cancer; 2.3 Short-Term Open Questions; 2.4 Long-Term Open Questions; 2.5 Current Obstacles to€Progress
2.6 Overcoming the€Obstacles to€Progress2.7 Conclusion; References; Chapter 3: Population Genetics of€Neoplasms; 3.1 The Importance of€Modeling the€Population Genetics of€Tumors; 3.2 Background and€Previous Work; 3.2.1 Modeling Tumorigenesis; 3.2.2 Cancer as€a€Complex System; 3.2.3 Fitting Multi-Scale Models to€Genomic Data; 3.3 Short-Term Open Questions; 3.4 Long-Term Open Questions; 3.5 Current Obstacles to€Progress; 3.6 Overcoming the€Obstacles to€Progress; 3.7 Conclusion; References; Chapter 4: Diversity in€Neoplasms; 4.1 The Importance of€Heterogeneity in€Neoplasms; 4.2 Previous Work
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This is the ideal book for anyone contemplating starting a career in, or shifting their career to, studying the dynamics that drive cancer progression and its response to therapy. Topics include the theory and population genetics of cancers, genetic diversity within tumors (intra-tumor heterogeneity), understanding how mutant clones expand in tissues, the role of cancer stem cells in the dynamics of tumors, the evolution of metastasis, and how to improve cancer therapy by addressing the evolution of cancers in response to our interventions. There are also chapters on the patterns of cancer susceptibility in humans due to a mismatch between our modern environment and the environment in which our ancestors evolved, as well as a chapter on the evolution of cancer suppression mechanisms that have evolved in different species, particularly the large long-lived animals like elephants and whales that are better at suppressing cancers than humans. This book serves as a primer on the evolutionary and ecological theory of cancer- the framework upon which all the details of cancer may be hung. It is ideal for oncologists and cancer researchers interested in evolutionary theory, and evolutionary biologists and ecologists interested in gaining insights into cancer development and prevention