Mis. Costa et Jl. Boldrini, CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS - A STUDY OF THE INTERPLAY AMONG DRUG-RESISTANCE, TOXICITY AND RECUPERATION FROM SIDE-EFFECTS, Bulletin of mathematical biology, 59(2), 1997, pp. 205-232
A system of differential equations for the control of tumor growth cel
ls in a cycle nonspecific chemotherapy is analyzed. Spontaneously acqu
ired drug resistance is taken into account, and a criterion for the se
lection of chemotherapeutic treatment is used. This criterion purports
to describe the possibility of improvement of the patient's health wh
en treatment is discontinued. Contrary to our early results which also
take drug resistance into account, in this context strategies of cont
inuous chemotherapy in which rest periods take part may be better than
maximum drug concentration throughout the treatment (which appears to
be in accordance with clinical practice). This bears out our previous
conjecture that when drug resistance is accounted for, the imperfecti
ons in the usual modelling of treatment criteria, which in general do
not allow for patient recuperation, ruled out the possibility of rest
periods in optimal continuous chemotherapy. (C) 1997 Society for Mathe
matical Biology.