Computational modeling of solid tumor growth: the avascular stage

In this paper, we present a mathematical model for avascular tumor growth and its numerical study in two and three dimensions. For this purpose, we use a multiscale model using PDEs to describe the evolution of the tumor cell densities. In our model, cell cycle regulation depends mainly on micro-environment. The cancer growth of volume induces cells motion and tumor expansion. According to biology, cells grow against a basal membrane which interacts mechanistically with the tumor. We use a level set method to describe this membrane and we compute its influence on cell movement thanks to a Stokes equation. The evolution of oxygen, diffusing from blood vessel to cancer cells and used to estimate hypoxia, is given by a stationary diffusion equation solved with a penalization method. The model has been applied to investigate the therapeutic benefit of anti-invasive agents and constitutes now the basis of a numerical platform for tumor growth simulation