Competition between epithelial tissue elasticity and surface tension in cancer morphogenesis

Abstract

We derive a continuum mechanical model to capture the morphological changes occurring at the pretumoral stage of epithelial tissues. The proposed model aims to investigate the competition between the bulk elasticity of the epithelium and the surface tensions of the apical and basal sides. According to this model, when the apico-basal tension imbalance reaches a critical value, a subcritical 1