Modelling Tumor Progression, Heterogeneity, and Immune Competition

Abstract

This paper deals with the modeling of the immune response to the evolution of the progression of endothelial cells which have lost the differentiation and start their evolution towards metastatic states. The modeling is developed in the framework of the so-called kinetic cellular theory. The model is critically analyzed on the basis of analytic solutions, asymptotic behaviors and numerical simulations that illustrate the scenarios predicted by the model. Finally, possible developments and generalizations that could describe other known phenomena are pointed out.