Oncolytic virotherapy for tumours following a Gompertz growth law

Abstract

Oncolytic viruses are genetically engineered to treat growing tumours and represent a very promising therapeutic strategy. Using a Gompertz growth law, we discuss a model that captures the in vivo dynamics of a cancer under treatment with an oncolytic virus. With the aid of local stability analysis and bifurcation plots, the typical interactions between virus and tumour are investigated. The system shows a singular equilibrium and a number of nonlinear behaviours that have interesting biological consequences, such as long-period oscillations and bistable states where two different outcomes can occur depending on the initial conditions.Complete tumour eradication appears to be possible only for parameter combinations where viral characteristics match well with the tumour growth rate. Interestingly, the model shows that therapies with a high initial injection or involving a highly effective virus do not universally result in successful strategies for eradication. Further, the use of additional, “boosting” injection schedules does not always lead to complete eradication. Our framework, instead, suggests that low viral loads can be in some cases more effective than high loads, and that a less resilient virus can help avoid high amplitude oscillations between tumours and virus.Finally, the model points to a number of interesting findings regarding the role of oscillations and bistable states between a tumour and an oncolytic virus. Strategies for the elimination of such fluctuations depend strongly on the initial viral load and the combination of parameters describing the features of the tumour and virus.