A Mathematical Model for Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy and Virotherapy Treatments of Cancer

TL;DR

This paper extends a cancer treatment model by adding Virotherapy to chemotherapy and immunotherapy, enabling computer simulations of combined treatments to optimize cancer therapy strategies.

Contribution

The novel addition of Virotherapy to an existing cancer treatment model allows for comprehensive simulation of combined therapies.

Findings

Simulations show combined treatments are more effective.

Model solutions are mathematically feasible and biologically realistic.

Computer experiments demonstrate potential treatment outcomes.

Abstract

We continue our study of a model for cancer treatment, constructed in Dutta et. al., 2025, by adding Virotherapy to the Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy studied there. It is a dynamical system model for the spread of cancer in healthy tissue. It allows computer experiments of various combinations of the three modalities, which cannot be performed in the laboratory or experimentally. The novelty is the addition of Virotherapy. The analysis shows that the model solutions exist, are bounded, and nonnegative on each finite time interval, thus biologically feasible. A time-stepping algorithm is constructed and implemented, and computer simulations are presented. The simulations show the development of the disease under various treatment options, including a baseline case without treatment, cases for each of the three treatments separately, and some combinations of the three treatments. These simulations indicate that combinations of treatments are more effective. However, we do not consider any limitation or incompatibilities of the joint application of the three modalities, that may exist in practice. Once validated in the field, the model can be used to design treatment schedules of combinations of the three modalities for improved outcomes.