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A Continuum Mechanics Model of Enzyme-Based Tissue Degradation in Cancer Therapies
Manon Deville1, Roberto Natalini2, Clair Poignard3
1Team MONC, INRIA Bordeaux-Sud-Ouest, Institut de Mathématiques de Bordeaux, CNRS UMR 5251, Université de Bordeaux, 351 cours de la Libération, 33405, Talence Cedex, France.
Abstract:
We propose a mathematical model to describe enzyme-based tissue degradation in cancer therapies. The proposed model combines the poroelastic theory of mixtures with the transport of enzymes or drugs in the extracellular space. The effect of the matrix-degrading enzymes on the tissue composition and its mechanical response are accounted for. Numerical simulations in 1D, 2D and axisymmetric (3D) configurations show how an injection of matrix-degrading enzymes alters the porosity of a biological tissue. We eventually exhibit numerically the main consequences of a matrix-degrading enzyme pretreatment in the framework of chemotherapy: the removal of the diffusive hindrance to the penetration of therapeutic molecules in tumors and the reduction of interstitial fluid pressure which improves transcapillary transport. Both effects are consistent with previous biological observations.
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