Higher-order models for glioma invasion: from a two-scale description to effective equations for mass density and momentum

TL;DR

This paper develops macroscopic models for glioma invasion by deriving effective PDEs from a two-scale kinetic description, enabling patient-specific tumor predictions based on DTI data.

Contribution

It introduces higher-order moment closure methods for kinetic equations, bridging microscopic dynamics and macroscopic tumor invasion models.

Findings

Effective PDE models for glioma invasion derived from kinetic descriptions.

Higher-order moment closures improve numerical simulations.

Models enable patient-specific predictions using DTI data.

Abstract

Starting from a two-scale description involving receptor binding dynamics and a kinetic transport equation for the evolution of the cell density function under velocity reorientations, we deduce macroscopic models for glioma invasion featuring partial differential equations for the mass density and momentum of a population of glioma cells migrating through the anisotropic brain tissue. The proposed first and higher order moment closure methods enable numerical simulations of the kinetic equation. Their performance is then compared to that of the diffusion limit. The approach allows for DTI-based, patient-specific predictions of the tumor extent and its dynamic behavior.