The role of mechanical forces in tumor growth and therapy

• Published in: Annual review of biomedical engineering Vol. 16; p. 321
• Main Authors: Jain, Rakesh K, Martin, John D, Stylianopoulos, Triantafyllos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 11.07.2014
• Subjects: Animals; Disease Progression; Drug Delivery Systems; Extracellular Fluid; Humans; Hypoxia; Immune System; Lymph; Microcirculation; Models, Theoretical; Neoplasm Metastasis; Neoplasms - pathology; Neoplasms - physiopathology; Neoplasms - therapy; Perfusion; Shear Strength; Stress, Mechanical; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - chemistry; vascular normalization; tumor perfusion; stress alleviation; vascular hyperpermeability; tumor microenvironment; vessel compression; solid stress

Tumors generate physical forces during growth and progression. These physical forces are able to compress blood and lymphatic vessels, reducing perfusion rates and creating hypoxia. When exerted directly on cancer cells, they can increase cells' invasive and metastatic potential. Tumor vessels-...