Tumour Control Management Using Low-impact Preventive Treatments

Abstract

Cancer poses danger because of its unregulated growth, development of resistant subclones, and metastatic spread to vital organs. Although the major transitions in cancer development are increasingly well understood, we lack quantitative theory for how preventive measures and post-excision ('reactive') treatments are predicted to affect risks of obtaining a life threatening cancer or relapse, respectively. We employ analytical and numerical models to evaluate how continuous measures such as life style changes, and certain non-targeted and targeted treatments affect both neoplastic growth and the frequency of resistant clones.