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arXiv · 0709.0443

Similar self-organizing scale-invariant properties characterize early cancer invasion and long range species spread

D. E. Marco·S. A. Cannas·M. A. Montemurro·B. Hu·S. Cheng
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Abstract

Occupancy of new habitats through dispersion is a central process in nature. In particular, long range dispersal is involved in the spread of species and epidemics, although it has not been previously related with cancer invasion, a process that involves spread to new tissues. We show that the early spread of cancer cells is similar to the species individuals spread and that both processes are represented by a common spatio-temporal signature, characterized by a particular fractal geometry of the boundaries of patches generated, and a power law-scaled, disrupted patch size distribution. We show that both properties are a direct result of long-distance dispersal, and that they reflect homologous ecological processes of population self-organization. Our results are significant for processes involving long-range dispersal like biological invasions, epidemics and cancer metastasis.

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D. E. Marco, S. A. Cannas, M. A. Montemurro, B. Hu, S. Cheng. 2007-09-04. Similar self-organizing scale-invariant properties characterize early cancer invasion and long range species spread. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2008.09.011

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