This summer, Robyn Smith (year 2->3 MMath) was funded through an EPSRC vacation bursary to work on evolutionary game theory models of cancer.    The focus of her project was a particular type of bone cancer in which cancer cells (multiple myeloma) disrupt the normal dynamic balance between cells that build bone (osteoblasts) and cells that destroy bone (osteoclasts).    In a healthy person, both osteoblasts and osteoclasts play an essential role in maintaining strong bones.  When multiple myeloma cells are present, they tend to result in a relative increase in osteoclasts which in turn results in loss of bone mass.  Robyn’s project started by examining some existing research that looked at how an evolutionary game theoretic approach can provide insight into the dynamics of bone cancer and the effect of cancer therapies on the disease. Within this context she identified the limitations of the approach and investigated the robustness of the game theory model to the assumptions that had been made about how the cells interact.

Robyn’s work enable us to get a clear view on what evolutionary game theory can offer as a technique for analysing the behaviour of bone cancer and showed that the predictions of a particular model are heavily dependent on what assumptions are made about the ways that cells interact.  This project is the first stage in the development of a collaboration on bone cancer dynamics.  

Mathematical modelling of cancer is an area that Anne Skeldon, David Lloyd and Carina Dunlop all have interests in.