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. 2012 Apr 23;7(4):e35689. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0035689

Table 2. Number of metastases on the day of achieving a total tumour mass of 1 kg.

No Treatment Resection
Scenario A B C D AR BR
Day of resection --- --- --- --- 680 620 680 620
Day of reaching lethal tumour mass 1728 1740 1800 1852 1972 2018 --- ---
Number of metastases on that day 4402 501 2131 38 4658 4276 --- ---

The day of reaching a total tumour mass of 1 kg varies from day 1728 in scenario A to day 1852 in scenario D. By resecting the primary tumour this day can be shifted further into the future. In scenario AR the lethal tumour mass is reached at day 1972 if the primary tumour is resected at day 680 or at day 2018 if the primary tumour is resected at day 620. In scenario BR the tumour mass of 1 kg is no longer reached. The significant differences in the number of metastases between the scenarios where metastases are able to metastasize and the scenarios where they are not are particularly remarkable. The difference between scenario A and B is 3901 metastases and between the scenarios C and D 2093 metastases. In contrast, the day of reaching a total tumour mass of 1 kg was only shifted by 12 or 52 days, respectively, into the future.