Stem cells in the bone marrow constantly give rise to new blood cells and are responsible for the maintenance of all vital blood components. However, errors during proliferation can change stem cell properties and cause tumours . Over the course of treatment, the number of these cancerous stem cells barely declines while the rest of the tumour shrinks. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön have developed a mathematical model with which they can calculate the proportion of cancer stem cells present over the course of treatment – those cells that maintain the supply of new tumour cells and thus promote tumour growth. While the number of tumour cells often declines during the treatment of certain types of leukaemia, the relative number of cancer stem cells remains more or less constant. The model developed by the Max Planck researchers could help doctors to predict tumour development in future and support them in the selection of suitable treatments.
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