A mathematical model for the estimation of treatment cost in cancer radiotherapy

Abstract

In this work we present a methodology for the investigation of costs of cancer treatment by radiotherapy, aiming to reduce the undesired effects of radiation and to obtain better results of the treatment. The tumor growth is simulated by using a mathematical model composed of three ordinary diferential equations corresponding to the population of Normal, Tumoral and Imune cells. The effect of radiation over each type of cells is considered using the linear quadratic model applied for the various distinct treatment protocols investigated. Cost of treatment is obtained using a model based on the concept of tumor cure probability, cost per fraction and cost of failure. The concept of biological effective dose is used in order to compare differente treatment protocols. We investigated different protocols currently used for various tumor types. Our results show that with this approach it is possible to obtain more efficient protocols with lower cost that those used. It is also possible to investigate the effect of fractionation protocols on the tumor evolution in order to obtain less aggressive protocols that are effective for patient cure with lower total dose and in smaller treatment time.