New publication in BioSystems

Hans H. Diebner, Thomas Zerjatke, Max Griehl and Ingo Roeder published a research article in BioSystems: Metabolism is the Tie: The Bertalanffy-type Cancer Growth Model as Common Denominator of Various Modelling Approaches (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystems.2018.03.004)

Whether or not cancer cells expand to a tumour crucially depends on their metabolic processes, i.e., how well they compete for resources. In our publication we adapt the "von Bertalanffy growth equation" known since the 1930s. The modified equation is compatible with fundamental biological principles like Kleiber's law of allometric scaling. The resulting, simple-structured growth equation turns out to be an excellent approximation to several very complex models, thus, can be conceived as "common denominator" of different modelling approaches. The new growth equation can easily be extended to a multi-clonal competition model. Clones with larger rescource utilisation efficiency theta expand with higher probability (see figure).