Phenomenological model of tumors (Q1324072)

Medical treatment of tumors can be considered as a solution of a control problem in which there are given a criterion (the tumor size), a control object (the mathematical model of interaction of tumor cells and lymphocytes), and constraints (the preparation dose). The construction of a model in itself is of considerable interest since if offers the possibility of classifying tumors by the dynamics of their growth. Models of this kind, which as a rule are described by systems of second-order differential equations with phase trajectories corresponding to different histories of the disease, have been reviewed by \textit{V. A. Kuznetsov} [Kibertika 1987, No. 4, 96-102 (1987; Zbl 0673.92003)]. A distinctive feature of the proposed model (besides being discrete) is its descriptive definition, i.e., by specifying a certain class of dynamic systems described by known rules of tumor growth. Such a definition can be assumed as a basis for development of an analytical model in cases when the available a priori information makes it possible to represent the right side of the system in analytic form.