Title: Cancer behaviour: an optimal control approach

Authors: Pedro J. Gutierrez, Irma H. Russo, J. Russo

Addresses: Dpto. de Fundamentos del Analisis Economico e Historia e Instituciones Economicas, Facultad de CC.EE y EE, Universidad de Valladolid, Avda. Valle Esgueva, 6, 47011 Valladolid, Spain. ' Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19111, USA. ' Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19111, USA

Abstract: With special attention to cancer, this essay explains how the Optimal Control Theory, mainly used in economics, can be applied to the analysis of biological behaviours and illustrates the ability of this mathematical branch to describe biological phenomena and biological interrelationships. Two examples are provided to show the capability and versatility of this powerful mathematical approach in the study of biological questions. The first example describes a process of organogenesis and the second, the development of tumours.

Keywords: cancer behaviour; anaplasia; apoptosis; angiogenesis; metastasis; biomathematics; optimal control theory; objective function; constraint function; reaction function; biological behaviours; organogenesis; tumour development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIS.2009.023560

International Journal of Immunological Studies, 2009 Vol.1 No.1, pp.31 - 65

Published online: 28 Feb 2009 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article