PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Hamid Teimouri
AU  - Cade Spaulding
AU  - Anatoly B. Kolomeisky
TI  - Optimal pathways control fixation of multiple mutations during cancer initiation
AID  - 10.1101/2022.02.07.479413
DP  - 2022 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2022.02.07.479413
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/02/09/2022.02.07.479413.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/02/09/2022.02.07.479413.full
AB  - Cancer starts after initially healthy tissue cells accumulate several specific mutations or other genetic alterations. The dynamics of tumor formation is a very complex phenomenon due to multiple involved biochemical and biophysical processes. It leads to a very large number of possible pathways on the road to final fixation of all mutations that marks the beginning of the cancer, complicating the understanding of microscopic mechanisms of tumor formation. We present a new theoretical framework of analyzing the cancer initiation dynamics by exploring the properties of effective free-energy landscape of the process. It is argued that although there are many possible pathways for the fixation of all mutations in the system, there are only few dominating pathways on the road to tumor formation. The theoretical approach is explicitly tested in the system with only two mutations using analytical calculations and Monte Carlo computer simulations. Excellent agreement with theoretical predictions is found for a large range of parameters, supporting our hypothesis and allowing us to better understand the mechanisms of cancer initiation. Our theoretical approach clarifies some important aspects of microscopic processes that lead to tumor formation.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.