Game Theory and Cancer Treatment
Recently, doctors and researchers have begun to observe and analyze the behavior of cancer cells as a type of game. The growth and metastasis of cancer cells in human tissue appear to resemble the growth and propagation of animals in an evolutionary game, and the local interactions between cancer cells is comparable to cooperative and competitive games between people. In humans, the tissues in which cancers develop can be viewed as ecosystems in which cancer cells compete for resources. However, some newer research has suggested that different types of cancer cells engage in either cooperation or competition depending on the stage of their development. Researchers have also noticed, that during the transition from a cooperative relationship to a competitive one, cancer cells might become more susceptible to available treatment options.
More directly related to the examples of games we went over in class, the treatment of cancer can also be considered a competitive game between doctors and cancer cells, in which to be successful one has to adjust its strategy according to the behavior of the other. The cancer cells’ “strategies” could be their potential immunities to a treatment option or drugs. Meanwhile the doctor’s strategies could be the different combinations of drugs or treatment techniques that would would most effectively eliminate the cancer given its innate resistances. While cancer cells do not have an actual choice in this situation, organizing the scenario this way can allow doctors to more accurately predict the cancer’s responses to treatment, and allow them to more effectively destroy the mutated cells.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23197192
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/game_theory_model_reveals_vulnerable_moments_for_metastatic_cancer_cells_energy_production
http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/news/media/releases/game_theory_model_reveals_vulnerable_moments_for_metastatic_cancer_cells_energy_production