A thermodynamic approach to the ‘mitosis/apoptosis’ ratio in cancer

•Mitosis/apoptosis ratio are fundamental in cancer analysis.•Cancer can be studied as an open thermodynamic system.•Mitosis/apoptosis ratio can be related to the cancer irreversibility.•Engineering thermodynamics allows us to explain the cancer behavior.

Cancer can be considered as an open, complex, (bio-thermo)dynamic and self-organizing system. Consequently, an entropy generation approach has been employed to analyze its mitosis/apoptosis ratio. Specifically, a novel thermodynamic anticancer strategy is suggested, based on the variation of entropy generation caused by the application of external fields, for example electro-magnetic fields, for therapeutic purposes. Eventually, this innovative approach could support conventional therapies, particularly for inoperable tumors or advanced stages of cancer, when larger tumor burden is diagnosed, and therapeutic options are often limited.