Game Theory in Biology
Game theory has numerous applications in a variety of fields, one of the most interesting being in oncology. Cancer is one of the most extensively researched diseases and is often studied from multiple approaches. Using principles from game theory, some scientists are trying to predict and understand the social interactions of cancer cells. Within a tumor there are cancerous cells that are able to create their own growth factors and some that cannot. Those unable to create their own sustenance are able to obtain these growth factors by diffusion from surrounding cells. These cancerous cells create a survival strategy following the motivations of game theory in order to ensure the viability and growth of the tumor. Essentially, the cells must divvy up the supplies at hand accordingly to go grow as fast as possible.
At the University of Basel, Dr. Archetti and his colleagues have developed a mathematical model based on the Public Goods Game, which has been traditionally used in economics. The Public Goods Game allows participants to allocate a certain amount of their own wealth into a collective pool. This public pool is multiplied by a factor greater than one and less than the number of participants and is then redistributed to the players. While there are incentives to throw in your own money to reap the rewards of the multiplier, it is only to the point where you are not putting in more than the other players such that they are getting the rewards of your donation. This model helps predicts how an uneven distribution of goods disseminates to the public good. Relating back to biology, the larger the whole tumor can grow, the easier it is to take down an organism. However, giving away too many nutrients puts your own survival at risk. Therefore, a producing cell must consider its own growth as well as the mutually beneficial growth of its fellow cells.
Using game theory ideas, the interaction between producing and nonproducing cells is becoming more predictive. The derived models from this study have been verified in vitro on pancreatic cancer cells at the university. The group plans to apply the same predictive model in different environments to see if the pattern holds true. Eventually they plan to use their findings to design a methodology to interfere with the sharing of goods between cells to diminish or even put to a standstill the cancerous growth. The hope for those in this area of research can be summed up by a Johns Hopkins’ researcher, Ardeshir Kianercy, ” if they become non-cooperative, they are most likely to stay in that state and the tumor may become more vulnerable to anti-cancer therapies.”
Sources:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-01/uob-gte012815.php
http://www.themunicheye.com/news/Cancer%3A-A-game-of-clones-3125
http://motherboard.vice.com/read/how-game-theory-might-beat-cancer
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20141029/Game-theory-and-the-cancer-ecosystem-an-interview-with-Professor-Pienta-Johns-Hopkins.aspx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_goods_game