Mathematical modeling of glioma invasion and therapy approaches via kinetic theory of active particles

Abstract

A multiscale model for glioma spread in brain tissue under the influence of vascularization and vascular endothelial growth factors is proposed. It accounts for the interplay between the different components of the neoplasm and the healthy tissue and it investigates and compares various therapy approaches. Precisely, these involve radiotherapy and chemotherapy in a concurrent or adjuvant manner together with anti-angiogenic therapy affecting the vascular component of the system. We assess tumor growth and spread on the basis of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data, which allows us to reconstruct a realistic brain geometry and tissue structure, and we apply our model to real glioma patient data. In this latter case, a space-dependent radiotherapy description is considered using data about the corresponding isodose curves.