Modeling of Combination Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy for Lung Cancer

Abstract

Cancer has traditionally been studied from a basic science perspective, focusing on the underlying biology, physiology, and biochemistry. Engineering has supplemented this effort via the development of technology, e.g., microscopy. In recent times, engineering and the physical sciences have positioned themselves as approaches on par with the traditional basic sciences to tackle the study of cancer. Mathematical modeling and computational simulation have become key elements of this engineering-focused effort, evaluating the growth of tumors and their response to therapy as problems that could benefit from a systems analysis perspective. Building upon previous work in this field, here is developed a modeling framework to help evaluate the response of tumors to the combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, focusing on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). With system parameters set with patient tumor-specific parameters, the longer term goal of this work is to advance personalized cancer treatment.