Speaker:Khalid Boushaba,
Iowa State University

Title:Mathematical Modeling for Tumor Dormancy

Abstract:We developed a mathematical model for dormant pre- angiogenic tumors based on biochemical kinetics and contemporary understanding of chemotaxis. The central hypothesis for the proposed model is that: 1) the decay rate of the secreted growth factors is much larger than the decay rate of the inhibitors; and 2) the diffusion rate of the growth factors is larger than the diffusion rate of the inhibitors. Biologically, secreted growth factors from the primary tumor have a rather short half life and, thus, cannot diffuse very far without degrading or binding to the extra cellular matrix (ECM) and becoming deactivated. Mathematical analysis and simulation of a two- compartment model based on enzyme kinetics of the pre- angiogenesis scenario, suggest that if a small secondary tumor is sufficiently remote from a larger primary tumor, the primary tumor will not influence the secondary tumor while, if they are too close together, the primary tumor can effectively prevent the growth of the secondary tumor, even after it has been removed.