A Rochester Institute of Technology scientist helped develop a recent mathematical model that might aid doctors and patients assessing different approaches for treating metastatic cancer. Assistant Professor Nourridine Siewe from RIT’s School of Mathematical Sciences is the lead creator on a paper published within the Journal of Theoretical Biology outlining the brand new method.

In recent times, drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors have helped advance the treatment of many metastatic cancers, however the treatment only advantages a limited percentage of patients as a consequence of immune suppression within the tumor microenvironment. Pairing immune checkpoint inhibitors with other drugs reminiscent of anti-PD-1 and anti-CSF-1 could help expand the advantages of the treatment to more patients, but aspects reminiscent of toxicity levels should be accounted for as well.

Siewe and his collaborator from The Ohio State University developed a model that shows the interactions among the many immune cells and cancer. The model shows how using various drugs at different amounts and points of time impacts the tumor volume and levels of toxicity within the patient. Siewe said he hopes this might be utilized by the medical field to guide one of the best opportunities for clinical trials.

It is vitally expensive to conduct clinical trials, and this model may help clinicians determine which approaches offer essentially the most favorable conditions. Our simulations checked out the tradeoffs between reducing tumor volume and maintaining toxicity at a suitable level, and we found one of the best strategy is to provide anti-CSF-1 at larger amounts as early as possible.”

Nourridine Siewe, Assistant Professor, RIT’s School of Mathematical Sciences

Siewe said he hopes to collaborate more with researchers within the medical field in the longer term to develop similar models for assessing other forms of treatments. He also envisions the maths model being presented in an app form that enables patients and practitioners to visualise how changing treatment methods can influence tumor volume and toxicity levels.

Source:

Rochester Institute of Technology

Journal reference:

Siewe, N & Friedman, A., (2022) Cancer therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitor and CSF-1 blockade: A mathematical model. Journal of Theoretical Biology. doi.org/10.1016/j.jtbi.2022.111297.