Abstract
In this paper, we carry out an examination of four mechanisms that can potentially lead to changing morphologies in a growing tumor: variations in nutrient consumption rates, cellular adhesion, excessive consumption of nutrients by tumor cells and immune cell interactions with the tumor. We present numerical simulations using a hybrid PDE-cellular automata (CA) model demonstrating the effects of each mechanism before discussing hypotheses about the contribution of each mechanism to morphology change.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank K.E.O. Todd-Brown for her contributions to significant portions of the cellular-automata code and C. Du Bois for his help in streamlining the diffusion code and in investigating cell–cell adhesion. The authors also extend thanks to the anonymous reviewers for insightful feedback. LD acknowledges partial support from the W.M. Keck Foundation and from the National Science Foundation NSF-0414011.