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Three Models were Built in STELLA
Model 3: tumor suppressor genes repair ALL mutations
of proto-oncogenes.
This continues until both alleles of at least
one tumor suppressor gene are mutated, at
which time repair of mutated proto-oncogenes
ceases and tumors are free to form if there are
enough mutated proto-oncogenes.
Model 3, Run 1
Model 3, Run 2
A Java Version of Model 1 Was Built
to Collect a Large Dataset
The Results of Model 1 Run 100,000 Times
Number of individuals
who got cancer
per 100,000 people
Age (in arbitrary units) at onset of cancer
How Well Does the Simulation using Model 1
Match the Actual Data?
Numbers of cases
Age at which curve starts
to rise steeply
Assumptions Made in the Models that
Could be further Refined
Mutations are “bad”:
any mutation alters the function of the protein
Refinement:
take into account different kinds of mutations
such as silent mutations and
conservative substitutions of amino acids
Also, how do we match this to real time in a real organ?