Cancerous tumors are among the deadliest diseases affecting humans. Therefore, specialists and researchers dedicate scientific studies and laboratory experiments to finding effective treatments for each type, drawing on various branches of science to achieve this goal. However, a unique study recently published uses mathematics to predict the behavior of cancerous tumors in order to combat and eliminate them.
Researchers from Britain and the United States have developed a mathematical model that helps predict the future state of cancerous tumors in humans and determine their behavior over a future period. This could contribute to identifying the optimal treatment for each stage. Dr. Alexander Anderson, a mathematics specialist from the University of Dundee in Britain, developed a mathematical model that can predict the activity of cancer cells and the state of the tumor in terms of its spread and development, similar to how weather forecasters predict future weather conditions.
Laboratory experiments and mathematical research have been conducted in this field with the assistance of researchers from the United States. These studies focused on the environmental conditions surrounding the tumor as a contributing factor in either inhibiting tumor growth or accelerating its spread.
The results of the study, published in the journal Cell, indicate that this mathematical model focuses on the environment in which cancer cells grow. It can predict tumor behavior by studying and evaluating the surrounding tissue. According to the study, this model showed that making the environment surrounding tumors more difficult for cancer cell growth through the use of certain treatments will cause the surviving cancer cells to become more aggressive and virulent. These cells may transform a few remaining cancer cells in the affected organ after tumor removal into a cancerous tumor that spreads throughout the body.
Thus, researchers hope that by developing a computer program in the future, applying the principles of this mathematical model, specialists will be able to predict the behavior of the tumor in the affected organ over a future period of time, just as meteorologists try to predict the weather in the coming days.