PAM: Discrete 3-D Model of Tumor Dynamics in the Presence of Anti-tumor Treatment

Abstract

Existing computer models of cancer focus mostly on disease progression rather than its remission/recurrence caused by anti-cancer therapy. Herein, we present a discrete model of tumor evolution in 3D, based on the Particle Automata Model (PAM) that allows for following the spatio-temporal dynamics of a small neoplasm (millimeters in diameter) under treatment. We confront the 3D model with its simplified 0D version. We demonstrate that the spatial factors such as the vascularization density, absent in the structureless 0D cancer models, can critically influence the results of treatment. We discuss briefly the role of computer simulations in personalized anti-cancer therapy.