Early cancer invasion and long-distance species dispersal share comparable ecological dynamics involving self-organizing processes

DIANA MARCO; S. CANNAS; M. MONTEMURRO; B. HU ; S. CHENG

Leeds

Congreso; British Ecological Society Annual Meeting; 2010

British Ecological Society

Using simulations and real data we show that the early spread of cancer cells from primary tumours is similar to species individuals spread by long-distance dispersal and that both processes are represented by a common spatio-temporal signature. This signature is characterized by a particular fractal geometry of patches generated, and a power-law scaled patch size distribution, reflecting self-organizing processes. Our results are consistent under different temporal and spatial scales.