Análise do comportamento dinâmico do crescimento de tumores

Abstract

Cancer is a term used to refer to a range of diseases. Cancer cells grow and divide and, as a result, form tumors that grow in size. The immune system recognizes cancer cells and attacks them, however, it can be weakened by cancer. One type of cancer treatment is chemotherapy, which uses drugs to kill cancer cells. Clinical, experimental and theoretical researches were developed to understand the dynamics of cancer cells with chemotherapy treatment, as well as the interaction between tumor growth and the immune system. We studied two mathematical models, one of that describes the growth of cancer and the response of the immune system, and another that describes the glia-neuron and glioma interaction, both treated with chemotherapeutic agents. The immune system is made up of resting cells that are converted into hunting cells to fight cancer. In this work, we considered cancer cells resistant and sensitive to drugs. We have shown that tumor growth can be controlled, not only through di erent chemotherapy protocols, but also by the immune system, which attacks sensitive and resistant cancer cells. Furthermore, for all the protocols considered, we demonstrated that the time delay between the transformation of resting cells to hunting cells plays a crucial role in combating cancer cells. We have also shown that continuous and pulsed chemotherapy can kill glioma cells, with minimal loss of neurons.