A filter-flow perspective of hematogenous metastasis offers a non-genetic paradigm for personalized cancer therapy

This is a rather short paper authored by some of us who maintain Warburg's Lens. The focus is on metastatic spread and how it can be understood from a filter-flow perspective, i.e. how the blood flow and filtration that occurs in capillary beds affects the efficiency of the process. This method builds on the work of Leonard Weiss, who was a leading figure in research into metastatic spread for many years.

Jacob G. Scott, Alexander G. Fletcher, Philip K. Maini, Alexander R. A. Anderson, Philip Gerlee

Research into mechanisms of hematogenous metastasis has largely become genetic in focus, attempting to understand the molecular basis of `seed-soil' relationships. Preceding this biological mechanism is the physical process of dissemination of circulating tumour cells (CTCs). We utilize a `filter-flow' paradigm to show that assumptions about CTC dynamics strongly affect metastatic efficiency: without data on CTC dynamics, any attempt to predict metastatic spread in individual patients is impossible.

link: http://arxiv.org/abs/1309.5078