- This public good is assumed to be shared equally until "free-rider" clones (a concept derived from evolutionary game theory) arrive in the system and utilize the resources without contributing energy [in the form of ATP] to angiogenesis, and instead allocate resources towards proliferation.
- This focus on proliferation allows the cheating clones a selection advantage, which out-competes the advantage of their angiogenic counterparts.
- As cheater clones populate the tumor, cells grow further away from the oxygen source (as they are not secreting angiogenic factors) to which necrosis is inevitable.