Are biomechanical changes necessary for tumor progression?
Prof. Dr. Josef Käs (Institut für Physik, Universität Leipzig)

What defines a tumor boundary? Carcinomas, which include breast and skin cancer, are the most common type of solid tumors. After breakthrough the basal membrane the tumor becomes malignant and invasive. The tumor remains a solid mass and surgeons use a tumor margin of ~3mm. Yet there is no definition of tumor boundaries based on fundamental science and it remains unclear to what extent cancer cells are hold back by these boundaries. Surface tension, glass-like jamming, cell motility induced cell clustering, and a positive turgor-like cell pressure may stabilize the tumor boundary. Experiments that permit us to distinguish these different effects will be discussed. In particular the role of active and passive cell mechanics as well as cell adhesion will be characterized.