Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Developing A Minimally Structured Mathematical Mode Of Cancer Treatment With Oncolytic Viruses And Dendritic Cell Injections, Jane L. Gevertz, Joanna R. Wares

Department of Math & Statistics Faculty Publications

Mathematical models of biological systems must strike a balance between being sufficiently complex to capture important biological features, while being simple enough that they remain tractable through analysis or simulation. In this work, we rigorously explore how to balance these competing interests when modeling murine melanoma treatment with oncolytic viruses and dendritic cell injections. Previously, we developed a system of six ordinary differential equations containing fourteen parameters that well describes experimental data on the efficacy of these treatments. Here, we explore whether this previously developed model is the minimal model needed to accurately describe the data. Using a variety of …