Figure 3.

The ecological context of cancer cells parallels the ecological context for organisms. Similarities include dependence on limited resources, dependence on neighbors for survival and reproduction, interactions with other species and threats from predation. In the case of cancer cells, their ecological context is characterized by dependence resource delivery from blood vessels, growth and survival signals from neighbors, interactions with microbial species and predation from the immune system. Similarly, the ecological context for organisms is characterized by dependent on resource delivery from the environment, dependence on neighbors for effective survival and reproduction, interactions with other species and threats from predators.