Modelagem de tumores avasculares: de autômatos celulares a modelos de multiescala

• Autor(a) principal: Paiva, Leticia Ribeiro de
• Data de Publicação: 2007
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: por
• Título da fonte: LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
• Texto Completo: http://locus.ufv.br/handle/123456789/4275
• topic: Fenômenos de crescimento; Modelos de multiescala; Câncer; Growth phenomena; Multiscale models; Cancer; CNPQ::CIENCIAS EXATAS E DA TERRA::FISICA::FISICA DA MATERIA CONDENSADA

Despite of the recent progress in cancer diagnosis and treatment, the survival rates of patients with tumors in unresectable locations, recurrent or metastatic tumors are still low. On the quest for alternative treatments, oncolytic virotherapy and encapsulation of chemotherapeutic drugs into nanoscale vehicles emerge as promissing strategies. However, several fundamental process and issues still must be understood in order to enhance the efficacy of these treatments. The nonlinearities and complexities inherent to tumor-oncolytic virus and tumor-drug interactions claim for a mathematical approach. Quantitative models allow to enlarge our understanding of the parameters influencing therapeutic outcomes, guide essays by indicating relevant physiological processes for further investigation, and prevent excessive experimentation. The multiescale models for virotherapy presented and discussed in this thesis suggest the appropriate traits an oncolytic virus must have and the less agressive ways to modulate the antiviral immune response in order to maximize the tumor erradication probability. Concerning the model for treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs encapsulated into nanoparticles, we focused on chimeric polymers attached with the doxorubicin drug, that recently are under active investigation. Using the same parameters that characterize these particles and the experimental protocols commonly used for their administration, our results indicate some of the basic features of these nanoparticles that should be developed in order to maximize the therapy's success.