The vision for the Center for Computational Oncology (CCO) is to develop biophysical models of tumor initiation, growth, invasion, and metastasis to establish a sound theoretical framework describing the hallmarks of cancer, and to use this knowledge to discover fundamental cancer biology, and develop tumor forecasting methods to optimize treatment and outcomes for the individual patient. The CCO is housed within the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin.
Our Approach
In our unique approach to tumor model construction, we require that all model inputs be constrained by experiment and/or measurable on the individual patient. Constructing models in this manner gives several distinct advantages over more common approaches based on population-derived metrics. Models naturally incorporate patient-to-patient heterogeneity and make quantitative, testable predictions of tumor progression on each individual tumor and patient, thereby allowing the model to be refined and/or verified.
