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Updated: Apr 27, 2026
Spatial Measurements of Perfusion, Interstitial Fluid Pressure and Liposomes Accumulation in Solid Tumors
Published on: August 18, 2016
Effect of tumor shape, size, and tissue transport properties on drug delivery to solid tumors
Mostafa Sefidgar1, M Soltani2, Kaamran Raahemifar3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, K. N. T. University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
Background:
The computational methods provide condition for investigation related to the process of drug delivery, such as convection and diffusion of drug in extracellular matrices, drug extravasation from microvessels or to lymphatic vessels. The information of this process clarifies the mechanisms of drug delivery from the injection site to absorption by a solid tumor. In this study, an advanced numerical method is used to solve fluid flow and solute transport equations simultaneously to investigate the effect of tumor shape and size on drug delivery to solid tumor.
Methods:
The advanced mathematical model used in our previous work is further developed by adding solute transport equation to the governing equations. After applying appropriate boundary and initial conditions on tumor and surrounding tissue geometry, the element-based finite volume method is used for solving governing equations of drug delivery in solid tumor. Also, the effects of size and shape of tumor and some of tissue transport parameters such as effective pressure and hydraulic conductivity on interstitial fluid flow and drug delivery are investigated.
Results:
Sensitivity analysis shows that drug delivery in prolate shape is significantly better than other tumor shapes. Considering size effect, increasing tumor size decreases drug concentration in interstitial fluid. This study shows that dependency of drug concentration in interstitial fluid to osmotic and intravascular pressure is negligible.
Conclusions:
This study shows that among diffusion and convection mechanisms of drug transport, diffusion is dominant in most different tumor shapes and sizes. In tumors in which the convection has considerable effect, the drug concentration is larger than that of other tumors at the same time post injection.
Insights
Tumor shape significantly impacts drug delivery, with prolate shapes showing better results. Diffusion is the primary drug transport mechanism, though convection can enhance concentration in certain tumors.
Area of Science:
- Computational fluid dynamics
- Biomedical engineering
- Pharmacokinetics
Background:
- Computational methods are crucial for understanding drug delivery processes like convection and diffusion in tumors.
- Investigating drug transport mechanisms clarifies how drugs move from injection sites to solid tumors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of tumor shape and size on drug delivery using advanced numerical methods.
- To solve fluid flow and solute transport equations simultaneously for drug delivery analysis.
Main Methods:
- Developed an advanced mathematical model incorporating solute transport equations.
- Employed the element-based finite volume method to solve governing equations for drug delivery.
- Analyzed the effects of tumor geometry and tissue transport parameters on interstitial fluid flow and drug distribution.
Main Results:
- Prolate tumor shapes demonstrated significantly enhanced drug delivery compared to other shapes.
- Increasing tumor size led to a decrease in interstitial fluid drug concentration.
- Drug concentration showed negligible dependency on osmotic and intravascular pressure.
Conclusions:
- Diffusion is the dominant drug transport mechanism across various tumor shapes and sizes.
- Convection plays a role in enhancing drug concentration in specific tumor types.
- Optimizing tumor shape and understanding transport mechanisms are key for effective drug delivery.
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