Colon cancer dynamics in development, progression and growth

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains an important cause of cancer related death worldwide. Early stage disease is often still curable but the availability of curative therapies for metastasized CRC is limited. Our aim was to gain a better understanding of the underlying growth dynamics of this disease to hopefully unravel new therapeutic avenues that will eventually improve patient outcomes. Therefore, we have investigated the fundamental growth dynamics of CRC during initiation, progression and growth, in both a qualitative as quantitative fashion. The work presented in this thesis, demonstrates that different selection dynamics underlie the multistep CRC evolution and the existence of an intimate relationship between the CRC cells and their environment.