Phase transitions in tumor growth VI: Epithelial-Mesenchymal transition

Herewith we discuss a network model of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) based on our previous proposed framework. The EMT appears as a “first order” phase transition process, analogous to the transitions observed in the chemical-physical field. Chiefly, EMT should be considered a transition characterized by a supercritical Andronov-Hopf bifurcation, with the emergence of limit cycle and, consequently, a cascade of saddle-foci Shilnikov's bifurcations. We eventually show that the entropy production rate is an EMT-dependent function and, as such, its formalism reminds the van der Waals equation.