Modelling the early growth of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast

The growth of a tumour in a rigid walled cylindrical duct is examined in order to model the initial stages of tumour cell expansion in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast. A nutrient-limited growth model is formulated, in which cell movement is described by a Stokes flow constitutive relat...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of mathematical biology 2003-11, Vol.47 (5), p.424-452
Main Authors: Franks, S J, Byrne, H M, King, J R, Underwood, J C E, Lewis, C E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Apoptosis
Breast cancer
Breast Neoplasms - pathology
Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating - pathology
Cell Adhesion
Cell Movement
Female
Growth models
Humans
Models, Biological
Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted
Tumor Cells, Cultured
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The growth of a tumour in a rigid walled cylindrical duct is examined in order to model the initial stages of tumour cell expansion in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) of the breast. A nutrient-limited growth model is formulated, in which cell movement is described by a Stokes flow constitutive relation. The effects on the shape of the tumour boundary of the material properties (i.e. the viscosity) and the extent to which the cells adhere to the duct wall are studied using numerical and asymptotic methods. It is shown how stable, non-planar, interface configurations result and that, during these initial stages, before the duct wall has been breached, few cells die and a nutrient-rich model is usually sufficient to capture the behaviour. Finally, we discuss the relevance of this approach to DCIS and suggest possible avenues for further work.
ISSN:0303-6812
1432-1416
DOI:10.1007/s00285-003-0214-x