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Background: Aside from the stepwise genetic alterations known to
underlie cancer cell creation, the microenvironment is known to profoundly influence
subsequent tumor development, morphology and metastasis. Invasive cluster formation
has been assumed to be dependent on directed migration and a heterogeneous
environment - a conclusion ... read morederived from complex models of tumor-environment
interaction. At the same time, these models have not included the prospect, now
supported by a preponderance of evidence, that only a minority of cancer cells may
have stem cell capacity. This proves to weigh heavily on the microenvironmental
requirements for the display of characteristic tumor growth phenotypes. We show using
agent-based modeling that some defining features of tumor growth ascribed to directed
migration might also be realized under random migration, and discuss broader
implications for cause-and-effect determination in general.
Springer Open.read less
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