Chronotherapy of cancer: periodic perturbations in vascular growth and metastasis

Abstract

A non-autonomous model was developed for vascular tumor growth and cancer metastasis under periodic perturbations that simulate chronotherapy. It was found that for a critical amplitude and a perturbation frequency of twice the autonomous frequency in vascular growth, less complex and therefore less robust states are reached and the tumor population decreases. In metastasis, similar results were found for a perturbation frequency equal to the autonomous frequency. In metastasis, similar behaviors occur, for a perturbation’s frequency equal to the fundamental frequency of system.