title: Morphology transitions induced by chemotherapy in carcinomas in situ.
abstract: Recently, we have proposed a nutrient-limited model for the avascular growth of tumors including cell proliferation, motility, and death [S. C. Ferreira, Jr., M. L. Martins, and M. J. Vilela, Phys. Rev. E 65, 021907 (2002)], which qualitatively reproduces commonly observed morphologies for carcinomas in situ. In the present work, we analyze the effects of distinct chemotherapeutic strategies on the patterns, scaling, and growth laws obtained for the nutrient-limited model. Two kinds of chemotherapeutic strategies were considered, namely, those that kill cancer cells and those that block cell mitosis but allow the cell to survive for some time. Depending on the chemotherapeutic schedule used, the tumors are completely eliminated, reach a stationary size, or grow following power laws. The model suggests that the scaling properties of the tumors are not affected by the mild cytotoxic treatments, although a reduction in growth rates and an increase in invasiveness are observed. For the strategies based on antimitotic drugs, a morphological transition in which compact tumors become more fractal under aggressive treatments was seen.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Física, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Caixa Postal 702, 30161-970 Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. silviojr@ufv.br
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Martins
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Vilela
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D002278:Carcinoma in Situ / Q000188:drug therapy; D002455:Cell Division; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002465:Cell Movement; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004848:Epithelium / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008938:Mitosis / Q000187:drug effects; D008954:Models, Biological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009369:Neoplasms
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents