CELLULAR AUTOMATON MODELS OF TUMOR DEVELOPMENT: A CRITICAL REVIEW

Cancer development can be viewed as an example of spatio-temporal pattern formation. Several attempts have been made to model and predict malignant tumor behavior and also to account for immune system response and the impact of possible clinical treatments. Modeling started from a macroscopic perspective and developed towards cell-based approaches, from which cellular automaton (CA) models are an example.In this article, we first introduce the general concept of CA systems. Then, we review CA models of tumor development, focusing on avascular and vascular growth, tumor invasion and angiogenesis. Finally, a comparative analysis of the models as well as criteria for designing new CA models are provided and future perspectives are outlined.