Abstract
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women and is responsible for 15 % of all cancer related deaths. Though there are significant advancements in cancer treatment strategies, clinical tumour treatment methods currently employed are often accompanied by severe side effects as they induce damage to the normal cells along with the cancer cells. The alterations in the biophysical and biomechanical properties of a cell as it undergoes transformation from a normal to cancerous cell results in changes in its dynamic characteristics. These changes can be utilised to induce selective cytotoxicity of tumour cells. In the present study, two simulation models (homogenous and non-homogenous) of normal (MCF-10A) and cancerous (MCF-7) breast cells are developed. A finite element approach using Ansys is adopted to investigate the variation in dynamic characteristics of the cells using the two modelling approaches. Results indicate that the natural frequencies of cells modelled as a homogenous system is greater than that of cells whose sub-cellular material properties are considered for analysis. A comparison of the first four natural frequencies using the two modelling approaches for both MCF-10A and MCF-7 cells are illustrated and the corresponding mode shapes reported. A plot highlighting the variation in the natural frequencies of MCF-10A and MCF-7 using the two modelling approaches is presented.
Highlights
The human body contains trillions of cells which grow, divide and die in a conventional manner
The transformation of a normal cell to cancerous cell is accompanied by various alterations in its biophysical and biomechanical properties
Dynamic analysis of cancer cells by experimental, mathematical and simulation approaches gives an insight into understanding the differences in mechanical properties and helps in development of treatment strategies that target tumor cells
Summary
The human body contains trillions of cells which grow, divide and die in a conventional manner. Dynamic analysis of cancer cells by experimental, mathematical and simulation approaches gives an insight into understanding the differences in mechanical properties and helps in development of treatment strategies that target tumor cells. Simulation techniques potentially reduce the cost and time in the development and analysis of cellular models due to ease of use and accessibility, helping a larger scientific community to illustrate the effects of different inputs on a biological system. Literature mentioned above reveals that there is significant reduction in the stiffness of cancer cells as compared to their normal counterparts This change in stiffness results in a corresponding variation of its dynamic characteristics such as its natural frequency. Numerous attempts are made to target cancer cells due to the change in their natural frequency as compared to that of normal cells. A comparison of the natural frequencies for the two models of MCF-10A and MCF-7 is reported
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