Dynamics of Immune Checkpoints, Immune System, and BCG in the Treatment of Superficial Bladder Cancer

Abstract

This paper aims to study the dynamics of immune suppressors/checkpoints, immune system, and BCG in the treatment of superficial bladder cancer. Programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1), cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA4), and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) are some of the examples of immune suppressors/checkpoints. They are responsible for deactivating the immune system and enhancing immunological tolerance. Moreover, they categorically downregulate and suppress the immune system by preventing and blocking the activation of T-cells, which in turn decreases autoimmunity and enhances self-tolerance. In cancer immunotherapy, the immune checkpoints/suppressors prevent and block the immune cells from attacking, spreading, and killing the cancer cells, which leads to cancer growth and development. We formulate a mathematical model that studies three possible dynamics of the treatment and establish the effects of the immune checkpoints on the immune system and the treatment at large. Although the effect cannot be seen explicitly in the analysis of the model, we show it by numerical simulations.