title: Miming the cancer-immune system competition by kinetic Monte Carlo simulations.
abstract: In order to mimic the interactions between cancer and the immune system at cell scale, we propose a minimal model of cell interactions that is similar to a chemical mechanism including autocatalytic steps. The cells are supposed to bear a quantity called activity that may increase during the interactions. The fluctuations of cell activity are controlled by a so-called thermostat. We develop a kinetic Monte Carlo algorithm to simulate the cell interactions and thermalization of cell activity. The model is able to reproduce the well-known behavior of tumors treated by immunotherapy: the first apparent elimination of the tumor by the immune system is followed by a long equilibrium period and the final escape of cancer from immunosurveillance.
authors: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Univ Paris Diderot, Ecole Normale Supérieure Laboratoire de Physique Statistique, 24 Rue Lhomond, 75005 Paris, France.
authors: Carlo
authors: C
authors: Bianca
authors: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, Laboratoire de Physique Théorique de la Matière Condensée (LPTMC), 4 Place Jussieu, Case Courrier 121, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors: Annie
authors: A
authors: Lemarchand
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002450:Cell Communication; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System; D007700:Kinetics; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D009369:Neoplasms