Simulation tumor growth in heterogeneous medium based on diffusion equation

Abstract

In the present article the diffusion equation is used to model the spatio-temporal dynamics of a tumor, taking into account the heterogeneous of the medium. This approach makes it possible to take into account the complex geometric shape of the tumor in modeling. The main purpose of the work is demonstration the applicability of this approach by comparing the obtained results with the data of clinical observations. We used an algorithm based on an explicit finite-difference approximation of differential operators for solve the diffusion equation. The ranges of possible values that the input parameters of the model can take to match the results of clinical observations are obtained. It is concluded that the heterogeneity of the physical parameters of the model, in particular the diffusion coefficient, has a significant effect on shape of tumor.