Cancer dissemination: A consequence of limited carrying capacity?

Assuming that there is feedback between an expanding cancer system and its organ-typical microenvironment, we argue here that such local tumor growth is initially guided by co-existence rather than competition with the surrounding tissue. We then present a novel concept that understands cancer dissemination as a biological mechanism to evade the specific carrying capacity limit of its host organ. This conceptual framework allows us to relate the tumor system's volumetric growth rate to the host organ's functionatity-conveying composite infrastructure, and, intriguingly, already provides useful insights into several clinical findings. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.