The impact of computational fluid mechanics on cancer research

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of recent contributions that show how fluid mechanics is drastically changing cancer research. The review will mainly focus on the computational modelling of fluid-mediated processes related to cancer dynamics, spanning different representation scales from cells to organs. Fluid mechanics seems to act as a fundamental organizing principle in many aspects of cancer, including its growth, progression, metastasis, and therapy. On the other hand, it is clear that fluid-dynamics modelling can make a huge contribution to many areas of experimental cancer investigation since there is now a wealth of data that requires systematic analysis. The relevance of microfluidics in the isolation, detection, molecular characterization, and migration of tumour cells is also discussed. In the last part of the chapter, future challenges and perspectives are briefly outlined.