A Stochastic Model of the Acquisition of Drug Resistance During Antineoplastic Chemotherapy

Abstract

A stochastic model is proposed to simulate the phenomenon of acquisition of genetic resistance by a tumor cell population treated with antineoplastic cytotoxic agents. In the model, stochastic differential equations are numerically integrated to simulate the expected response after treatment with two different agents. The model takes into account the initial number of cells, the sequence of the agents, the time intervals between administrations, the birth and death rates of the untreated cells, the probabilities of mutations to resistance, and the induced cell-killing kinetics. Satisfactory demonstration runs of the model indicate that it could represent a useful tool in verifying the results of experimental and clinical chemotherapy courses and planning treatment strategies.