The Physical Sciences Oncology Center (PS-OC) Focusing on Four Dimensional Heterogeneity of Fluid Phase Biopsies in Cancer (4DB Center)

The ultimate goal of the 4DB Center is to generate a mechanistic, yet comprehensive view of both the `FORCE-journey’ of a cancer cell during the metastatic phase, and a `TIME-journey’ of the disease as it progresses. The approach will correlate the ‘FORCE’ and ‘TIME’ journey with both the bio-clinical aspects and the genomics of this complex problem.

PS-OC will measure and model the four-dimensional heterogeneity of fluid phase biopsies in cancer (4DB-Center)
to provide a new fundamental understanding of the physical processes of cancer metastasis.

Figure 1.

The Physical Sciences Oncology Center (PS-OC) will measure and model the four-dimensional heterogeneity of fluid phase biopsies in cancer (4DB-Center) to provide a new fundamental understanding of the physical processes of cancer metastasis in patients with epithelial cancers across the dimension of space in the human organism and over the dimension of time during the course of disease (Figure 1).

All measurements over time and space will be performed on human samples, including primary tumor and neighboring normal tissue as well as metastases and corresponding peripheral blood containing CTCs.

These space and time variations will be measured in two tumor types:

colon cancer as a representative tumor type that characteristically shows a moderate clinical course;
non-small cell lung cancer, a tumor type that characteristically shows a more aggressive clinical course and somewhat greater clinical heterogeneity across patients.

4DB Center Framework ::

The three research directions of 4DB Center will deliver the variables and the correlations on the space and time dimension of epithelial cancers:

Cytophysics, which investigates the mechanical properties of cancer cells;
Topology, which measures the topology, morphology, and travel group strategies of cancer cells over the course of disease;
Dynomics, which investigates the genomics and transcriptomics of cancer cells over the course of the disease.

Predictive simulations and mathematical models based on first principles will help solidify and unify the findings

The measureable outcome of the 4DB-Center will catalyze a fundamentally new understanding of the behavior of cancer cells based on a unifying physical-sciences thematic approach.

We will foster the interest in these areas with our Outreach and Pilot Project Program, which will

enable others to use our experimental strategies and data and
bring new types of mathematical modeling and measurements to the Center to complement current strategies.

Trans-Network Projects will be

initiated immediately with complementary centers that work on advanced methods of single cell measurements and
developed over time with centers of complementary, overarching frameworks; for example to drive novel evolutionary models.

The Infrastructure of the 4DB Center is greatly enhanced by a substantial participation of engineering schools and cancer centers that are greatly interested in this field of research due to the important translational relevance and potential immediate usefulness in the clinical oncology research setting.

The 4DB Center is a virtual center that operates within the framework of strong institutional relationships with core expertise in mathematical modeling, physics and engineering, next generation genomics, life sciences and oncology.

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