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Cancer cells enter a reversible drug tolerant persister (DTP) state to evade death from both chemotherapies and targeted agents. It is increasingly appreciated that the DTP state is an important driver of therapy failure and tumor relapse. We combined cellular barcoding and mathematical modeling in patient-derived colorectal cancer xenograft models to identify and characterize the cancer cells capable of generating DTPs in response to standard-of-care chemotherapy. Barcode analysis revealed no ... (Show More)

Cancer cells enter a reversible drug tolerant persister (DTP) state to evade death from both chemotherapies and targeted agents. It is increasingly appreciated that the DTP state is an important driver of therapy failure and tumor relapse. We combined cellular barcoding and mathematical modeling in patient-derived colorectal cancer xenograft models to identify and characterize the cancer cells capable of generating DTPs in response to standard-of-care chemotherapy. Barcode analysis revealed no loss in clonal complexity of tumors that entered the DTP state and recurred following treatment cessation. Our data fits a mathematical model in which all cancer cells, and not a small subpopulation, possess an equipotent capacity to enter the DTP sta... (Read more)