The Evolution of Fitness Landscapes: From Visualizing Evolution to Controlling It

Abstract

Simple Summary Cancer evolves over time, allowing tumors to adapt to treatment and develop resistance. Fitness landscapes provide a way to visualize and study this evolutionary process by linking genetic or phenotypic changes to their effects on fitness. In this review, we describe how fitness landscapes have developed from theoretical models into empirical and dynamic frameworks that can incorporate experimental data and changing environments. We discuss major landscape models and how these approaches may be used to predict evolutionary outcomes and guide treatment strategies. Although the clinical application of evolutionary control remains limited, continued integration of experimental, computational, and clinical data may enable fitness landscapes to become useful tools for predicting and ultimately controlling cancer evolution.