https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210623144853.htm > Cancer is no different. Within a growing tumor, cancer cells with the best ability to compete for resources and withstand environmental stressors will come to dominate in frequency. It's "survival of the fittest" on a microscopic scale. > But fitness -- how well suited any particular individual is to its environment -- isn't set in stone; it can change when the environment changes. The cancer cells that might do best in an environment saturated with chemotherapy drugs are likely to be different than the ones that will thrive in an environment without those drugs. So, predicting how tumors will evolve over time, especially in response to treatment, is a major challenge for scientists.