The Physics of Cancer

Recent years have witnessed an increasing number of theoretical and experimental contributions to cancer research from different fields of physics, from biomechanics and soft-condensed matter physics to the statistical mechanics of complex systems. Reviewing these contributions and providing a sophisticated overview of the topic, this is the first book devoted to the emerging interdisciplinary field of cancer physics. Systematically integrating approaches from physics and biology, it includes topics such as cancer initiation and progression, metastasis, angiogenesis, cancer stem cells, tumor immunology, cancer cell mechanics and migration. Biological hallmarks of cancer are presented in an intuitive yet comprehensive way, providing graduate-level students and researchers in physics with a thorough introduction to this important subject. The impact of the physical mechanisms of cancer are explained through analytical and computational models, making this an essential reference for cancer biologists interested in cutting-edge quantitative tools and approaches coming from physics.

Author: Caterina A. M. La Porta, Stefano Zapperi
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 04/20/2017
Pages: 184
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.17lbs
Size: 10.12h x 6.85w x 0.56d
ISBN: 9781107109599

Review Citation(s):
Choice 01/01/2018

About the Author
Zapperi, Stefano: - 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.La Porta, Caterina A. M.: - 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).