The Physics of Cancer

Caterina A. M. La Porta is Associate Professor of General Pathology at Università degli Studi di Milano and group leader of the Molecular Oncology Laboratory there. In 2015, she founded the university's Center for Complexity and Biosystems. She has organized several interdisciplinary workshops on the physics of cancer funded by the European Center for Atomic and Molecular Calculations (CECAM) and the European Science Foundation (ESF). Stefano Zapperi is Professor of Theoretical Physics at Università degli Studi di Milano, where he coordinates the Center for Complexity and Biosystems, and Research Leader at the Institute for Scientific Interchange (ISI) Foundation in Turin, Italy. He is an expert in the statistical mechanics of non-equilibrium complex systems and has worked in fracture, plasticity, friction, magnetism and biophysics. He is the recipient of numerous awards and is currently the chairman of the steering committee of the Conference on Complex Systems.

'The Physics of Cancer explores a growing field and seeks to incorporate discussions pertaining to both the physics and biology of cancer. [The authors] provide readers with a refreshing perspective on cancer research. The volume not only offers a clear description of the fundamental biological concepts of cancer development and treatment, but also introduces readers with a physics background to the developing interdisciplinary field of the physics of cancer. This new field contributes to the understanding of many aspects of cancer studies, which include cancer stem cell phenotypic switching, cell sorting, mechanics of cancer cells, cell migration, cancer metastasis, etc. Due to the advanced nature of the topic, this book will serve as a good introductory level resource for physics researchers and graduate students who are interested in learning about this interdisciplinary field.' H. Zhou, Choice

• Preface; 1. Introduction to the cell; 2. The biology of cancer; 3. A modeling toolbox for cancer growth; 4. Vascular hydrodynamics and tumor angiogenesis; 5. Cancer stem cells and the population dynamics of tumors; 6. Biomechanics of cancer; 7. Cancer cell migration; 8. Chromosome and chromatin dynamics in cancer; 9. Control of tumor growth by the immune system; 10. Pharmacological approaches: old and new; 11. Outlook on the physics of cancer: a new interdisciplinary area; References; Index.