Thermodynamic Aspects of Cancer: Possible Role of Negative Entropy in Tumor Growth, its Relation to Kinetic and Genetic Resistance

Chemotherapy can result in partial or temporary remission, but often does not completely eradicate cancer. The treatment failures are, at least in part, due to tumor cell resistance to chemotherapeutics. One contributing factor for impaired responses to chemotherapy is that only proliferating cells are affected by the action of chemotherapeutic drugs (kinetic resistance of tumors). Another contributing factor is the genetic resistance mediated by genes encoding proteins such as ABC transporters. A basic understanding of changes associated with tumorigenesis is needed to design and deploy novel and effective strategies for treating cancers. This paper focuses on aspects of energy flow and entropy in tumorigenesis and changes in the interaction between cancer cells and the host. We propose that correlating those changes with the progression of tumors will assist in the design and deployment of novel and more efficacious strategies for chemotherapy and combined therapies.