The Risk Function of Breast and Ovarian Cancers in the Avrami-Dobrzyński Cellular Phase-Transition Model

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Oncology
• Genetics

Background:

• Genetic mutations are critical for understanding hereditary cancer predispositions and developing targeted treatments.
• The relationship between the number of cancerogenic mutations and lifetime cancer probability requires elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the link between cancerogenic mutations and cancer induction probability over a patient's lifetime.
• To validate the Avrami-Dobrzyński biophysical model for cancer induction using clinical data.

Main Methods:

• Utilized clinical data from breast and ovarian cancer patients.
• Applied the Avrami-Dobrzyński biophysical model, conceptualized as a phase-transition process analogous to neoplastic transformation.
• Analyzed model parameters to confirm fractal dynamics in carcinogenesis.

Main Results:

• Model parameter values derived from clinical data support the hypothesis of fractal dynamics in the carcinogenic process.
• A slight divergence between model predictions and clinical data for patients under 30 suggests a potential cancer protection mechanism.
• Clinical data indicate an earlier onset of breast or ovarian cancers by two years in patients with BRCA1/2 mutations.

Conclusions:

• The Avrami-Dobrzyński model, grounded in biophysics, effectively describes cancer induction, highlighting fractal dynamics.
• Early-onset cancer cases in younger individuals may involve protective biological mechanisms.
• BRCA1/2 mutations are associated with a significantly earlier onset of hereditary breast and ovarian cancers.