title: Recovery of normal hemopoiesis in disseminated cancer therapy--a model.
abstract: The strategy of normal cell regeneration with recombinant hematopoietic growth factors during cancer chemotherapy is investigated by superimposing a treatment protocol on a simple model that describes an expanding malignant cell population that is coexisting with and inhibiting the population of normal cells. The model predictions suggest that the strategy of normal cell stimulation, possibly with growth factors, and possibly carried out within an intensive treatment framework may be a worthwhile chemotherapeutic option. Under this protocol, the model also predicts a minimum time interval for active treatment, a time to discontinue treatment, and a rest period during treatment in order to guarantee patient safety and recovery. Consequently, by relating and comparing model predictions to patient data, model simulations forecast that treatment could be shortened by 1-2 weeks if organized over or in the neighborhood of a predicted optimal time interval. Following this, it is conjectured that such an approach engendered by the model could produce outcomes that may have an edge over outcomes arising from therapeutic strategies that are executed over time frames that are relatively longer or significantly shorter than the predicted optimal time.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Elmhurst College, 190 Prospect Avenue, 60126-3296, Elmhurst, IL, USA. evansa@elmhurst.edu
authors.forename: E K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Afenya
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006410:Hematopoiesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D016298:Hematopoietic Cell Growth Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008954:Models, Biological; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D016298:Hematopoietic Cell Growth Factors; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D016179:Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor