Cancer diseases rank second in global mortality rates. Among the prevalent approaches for treating tumors, chemotherapy stands out as a prominent method capable of reducing tumor size and managing the advancement of cancer ailments. To gain deeper insights into the intricacies of chemotherapy mechanisms, we devised a Fractional-order mathematical model, depicting tumor growth in the presence of chemotherapy. This comprehensive model encompasses both the immune system's response and the effects of drug therapy. To demonstrate that the system is biologically meaningful, we examined the existence and uniqueness of solutions and proved the positivity and boundedness of solutions. We characterize the dynamics properties of this differential equation model by finding the equilibrium points and exploring the stability conditions in a range of model parameters. In addition, we have performed numerical simulations considering different parameter values. Furthermore, to demonstrate the memory effect of the fractional derivative, we have simulated the dynamic behavior of the system for different orders of fractional derivatives. So, we have concluded that the memory effect occurs as the α decreases from 1 and the chemotherapy drug is quite effective on the populations. We hope that this work will contribute to helping medical scientists take the necessary measures during the screening process and treatment.
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