Elastomechanical model of tumor invasion

Tumor invasion concerns the tumor capability of colonizing the host by means of several complex biochemical processes. Since certain aspects of the problem present a striking resemblance with well known physical mechanisms, the authors propose here an analogy between tumoral invasive branching in a tissue and the mechanical insertion of a solid inclusion in an elastic material specimen. The model, which is an extension of a previous one, based on the universal growth law of West et al. [Nature (London) 413, 628 (2001)] , is discussed in the case of multicellular tumor spheroids (and cords), but it may be adapted to understand invasion also in real tumors.