Inhibition of vascularization in tumor growth.

The transition to a vascular phase is a prerequisite for fast tumor growth. During the avascular phase, the neoplasm feeds only from the (relatively few) existing nearby blood vessels. During angiogenesis, the number of capillaries surrounding and infiltrating the tumor increases dramatically. A model which includes physical and biological mechanisms of the interactions between the tumor and vascular growth describes the avascular-vascular transition. Numerical results agree with clinical observations and predict the influence of therapies aiming to inhibit the transition.