An example of the effects of drug resistance on the optimal schedule for a single drug in cancer chemotherapy

Abstract

In this paper the authors study the effects of drug resistance on the optimal drug schedule of a single drug in cancer chemotherapy. The optimal schedule is analytically determined when the tumour grows exponentially and the drug has a linear killing action. Drug resistance enters into the model via an effectiveness term that decreases the cell loss as the accumulation of the drug grows. It is found that the optimal schedule is one where the drug is given at its maximum feasible dose from the onset, with some difference at the end of treatment depending on the relative speeds with which resistance develops.