Simulating tumor growth using mathematical and agent-based modeling

Abstract

In this paper, two different approaches for tumor growth modeling are presented and implemented. In the first part of the paper, a macroscopic approach using a PDE model, where the tumor is viewed as a cell mass, is implemented using the level-set method to track the tumor moving boundary in one hand by using Darcy’s law to compute the normal velocity of the free boundary and on the other hand using the shape optimization to draw the normal velocity. In the second part of the paper, a microscopic approach, which focuses on the cellular scale, is presented. A hybrid model using agent-based modeling for the cell behavior and a PDE for the description of the tumor environment is presented. A sensitivity analysis is performed on the hybrid model for a better understanding of its impact on the tumor growth. Numerical experiments are provided for the proposed approaches.