Abstract
BackgroundRecently, melanoma has become the most malignant and commonly occurring skin cancer. Melanoma is not only the major source (75%) of deaths related to skin cancer, but also it is hard to be treated by the conventional drugs. Recent research indicated that angiogenesis is an important factor for tumor initiation, expansion, and response to therapy. Thus, we proposed a novel multi-scale agent-based computational model that integrates the angiogenesis into tumor growth to study the response of melanoma cancer under combined drug treatment.ResultsOur multi-scale agent-based model can simulate the melanoma tumor growth with angiogenesis under combined drug treatment. The significant synergistic effects between drug Dox and drug Sunitinib demonstrated the clinical potential to interrupt the communication between melanoma cells and its related vasculatures. Also, the sensitivity analysis of the model revealed that diffusivity related to the micro-vasculatures around tumor tissues closely correlated with the spread, oscillation and destruction of the tumor.ConclusionsSimulation results showed that the 3D model can represent key features of melanoma growth, angiogenesis, and its related micro-environment. The model can help cancer researchers understand the melanoma developmental mechanism. Drug synergism analysis suggested that interrupting the communications between melanoma cells and the related vasculatures can significantly increase the drug efficacy against tumor cells.
Highlights
Melanoma has become the most malignant and commonly occurring skin cancer
We have implemented the above model in the VC++ programming environment. It includes a 3D melanoma-angiogenesis interaction model and its related drug combination treatment. We can employ this tool to predict the responses of melanoma and its related angiogenesis under drug combination treatment
As reported by Khodadoust et al [35], there are two experimental data sets related to human melanoma, which were estimated at the indicated times by manual counting
Summary
Melanoma has become the most malignant and commonly occurring skin cancer. Melanoma is the major source (75%) of deaths related to skin cancer, and it is hard to be treated by the conventional drugs. We proposed a novel multi-scale agent-based computational model that integrates the angiogenesis into tumor growth to study the response of melanoma cancer under combined drug treatment. Melanoma is the most malignant skin tumor, causing the majority (75%) of deaths related to skin cancer [1]. Several molecular drugs, such as doxorubicin and etoposide, were developed to treat melanoma cancer [3]. One of the aims of this study is to develop such indexes and tools that can estimate drug effects on melanoma cells
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
