We prove local integral (entropy) estimates for nonnegative solutions of the fourth order degenerate parabolic equation u t + div(u n r\Deltau) = 0 in space dimensions two and three. These estimates enable us to show that solutions have finite speed of propagation if n 2 ( 1 8 ; 2) and that the support cannot shrink if the growth exponent n is larger than 3=2. In addition, we prove decay estimates for solutions of the Cauchy problem and a growth estimate for their support. 1
