Figure 2.
Multi-state carcinogenesis: a) the schema shows the progression of different qualitative states (x1, x2....xn-1, xn) identifiable in the development of cancer from normal tissue. The time parameter (t0, t1... ....tn-1, tn) depends on a large number of variables interconnected in many ways in a non-linear manner. This makes it extremely difficult to predict the exact time interval between two successive states. Although carcinogenesis is a continuum, its differentiation into successive states is still based on differences in histological and clinical data. Examples of dynamical view of colorectal (b) pancreatic (c) and liver (d) carcinogenesis [38,50,51].