Preprint, Dataset, figures

New Spatiotemporal Phenomena in Cancer-Host Interactions and Tumor Functional Border Definition via Electrical Impedance Dynamics

Abstract. The Hanahan-Weinberg criteria interpret cancer as an ecosystem that evolves as a complex adaptive subsystem within a larger open human system. The original technology of functional imaging “The Skin Electrodynamic Introscopy” enabled discovery of previously unknown phenomena of spatial reorganization of the spectral electrical impedance landscape (SEL) in the melanoma area: emergence of autowave and antiphase structures in response to mild stimuli such as short ischemia and non-thermal EMF.

This work aimed at biological understanding of these phenomena based on more thorough processing and analysing data of 4 experiments with the aid methods of correlation and fluctuation fields, difference images and graphical analysis. A whole range of new phenomena and effects have been additionally identified. Most of them were contextualized within the “Order from chaos” concept of theory of dissipative structures (DS):

- Emergence and relaxation of DS;

- Emergence of antiphase structure as a marker of the tumor invasive front,

- Significant excess of the tumor impedance boundaries, as compared to the optical ones, and their temporary expansion in response to the stimuli;

- Transition from initially chaotic SEL to the tumor specific patterns and back upon cessation of the stimulus;

- Manifestation of stroma of pre-existing nevus at the mitochondrial fluctuation field;

- Emergence of the tumor resistance zone to the influence as a direct (post) effect of cancer-host interaction;

- Ionic imbalance patterning etc.

From the point of view of the DS theory, the revealed impedance boundaries of the tumor can be interpreted as an effective zone of entropy/negentropy flow from the tumor. Respectively, the functional boundaries of the tumor can be assessed by the advancement of the impedance front caused by stimulation of the entropy flow. It is also appropriate to recall that, in contrast to the electrodynamics of individual cells, the phenomena presented reflect the average collective electrodynamics of multi-thousand cell ensembles underlying self-organization processes.

The findings highlight new potential of advanced imaging techniques, they:

- facilitate real-time monitoring and biofeedback in laboratory and clinical settings;

- highlight the need for a paradigm shift in cancer research;

- challenge traditional views on EMF exposure by demonstrating that non-thermal effects can induce significant biological responses at the tissue level;

- calls for investigating tumors as dynamic entities shaped by their interactions with environmental factors, thereby opening up opportunities for innovative treatment approaches that target this adaptive behavior.