The dynamic evolution of the power exponent in a universal growth model of tumors

We have previously reported that a universal growth law, as proposed by West and collaborators for all living organisms, appears to be able to describe also the growth of tumors in vivo after an initial exponential growth phase. In contrast to the assumption of a fixed power exponent p (assumed by West et al. to be equal to 3/4), we propose in this paper a dynamic evolution of p, using experimental data from the cancer literature. In analogy with results obtained by applying scaling laws to the study of fragmentation of solids, the dynamic behaviour of p is related to the evolution of the fractal topology of neoplastic vascular systems. Our model might be applied for diagnostic purposes to mark the emergence of an efficient neo-angiogenetic structure if the results of our in silico experiments are confirmed by clinical observations.