Theory 22/Weeks to Months/Tumour dormancy
Dormancy Is Growth Against Clearance
The claim
The duration of tumour dormancy is set by the ratio of angiogenic switching rate to immune clearance rate, so a micrometastasis can persist for years without either winning.
01Mechanism
A dormant lesion balances proliferation and killing; the ratio determines how long the balance holds before one process dominates.
02Prediction
Dormancy duration should track the ratio.
03Refutation
Duration tracking tumour size would remove the balance.