title: Cancer systems biology and modeling: microscopic scale and multiscale approaches.
abstract: Cancer has become known as a complex and systematic disease on macroscopic, mesoscopic and microscopic scales. Systems biology employs state-of-the-art computational theories and high-throughput experimental data to model and simulate complex biological procedures such as cancer, which involves genetic and epigenetic, in addition to intracellular and extracellular complex interaction networks. In this paper, different systems biology modeling techniques such as systems of differential equations, stochastic methods, Boolean networks, Petri nets, cellular automata methods and agent-based systems are concisely discussed. We have compared the mentioned formalisms and tried to address the span of applicability they can bear on emerging cancer modeling and simulation approaches. Different scales of cancer modeling, namely, microscopic, mesoscopic and macroscopic scales are explained followed by an illustration of angiogenesis in microscopic scale of the cancer modeling. Then, the modeling of cancer cell proliferation and survival are examined on a microscopic scale and the modeling of multiscale tumor growth is explained along with its advantages.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (LBB), Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: amasoudin@ibb.ut.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masoudi-Nejad
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (LBB), Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Gholamreza
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bidkhori
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (LBB), Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Saman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hosseini Ashtiani
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (LBB), Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Najafi
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics (LBB), Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Joseph H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Bozorgmehr
authors.affiliation: National Research Council Canada, Montreal, QC H4P 2R2, Canada; Center for Bioinformatics, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 0B1, Canada.
authors.forename: Edwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009369:Neoplasms; D049490:Systems Biology
keywords: Cancer; Cell proliferation and survival; Multiscale modeling; Systems biology