Quantifying efficacy of chemotherapy of brain tumors with homogeneous and heterogeneous drug delivery

Gliomas are diffuse and invasive brain tumors with the nefarious ability to evade even seemingly draconian treatment measures. Here we introduce a simple mathematical model for drug delivery of chemotherapeutic agents to treat such a tumor. The model predicts that heterogeneity in drug delivery rela...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta biotheoretica 2002-01, Vol.50 (4), p.223-237
Main Authors: Swanson, Kristin R, Alvord, Jr, Ellsworth C, Murray, J D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antineoplastic Agents - administration & dosage
Antineoplastic Agents - pharmacokinetics
Brain cancer
Brain Neoplasms - blood supply
Brain Neoplasms - drug therapy
Brain Neoplasms - metabolism
Cell Division - drug effects
Cell Division - physiology
Cell Movement - drug effects
Cell Movement - physiology
Diffusion
Drug Delivery Systems
Forecasting
Glioma - blood supply
Glioma - drug therapy
Glioma - metabolism
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Models, Biological
Treatment Outcome
Tumors
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Summary:Gliomas are diffuse and invasive brain tumors with the nefarious ability to evade even seemingly draconian treatment measures. Here we introduce a simple mathematical model for drug delivery of chemotherapeutic agents to treat such a tumor. The model predicts that heterogeneity in drug delivery related to variability in vascular density throughout the brain results in an apparent tumor reduction based on imaging studies despite continual spread beyond the resolution of the imaging modality. We discuss a clinical example for which the model-predicted scenario is relevant. The analysis and results suggest an explanation for the clinical problem of the long-standing confounding observation of shrinkage of the lesion in certain areas of the brain with continued growth in other areas.
ISSN:0001-5342
1572-8358
DOI:10.1023/A:1022644031905