Analysis of a free-boundary tumor model with angiogenesis (Q499552)

The authors study a spherically symmetric free boundary problem which is a mathematical model of an evolution of tumor with nutrient concentrations \(u\) in a region \(r < R(t)\) and \(\bar{u}\) outside of domain. It is required to find \(u(r,t)\) and a free boundary \(R(t)\) under the conditions \[ \frac{\partial u}{\partial t} = \Delta u - u \;\text{in} \;r < R(t), \eqno(1) \] \[ \frac{\partial u}{\partial r} + \alpha(t)(u - \bar{u}) = 0 \;\text{on} \;r = R(t), \;\frac{d\,R}{d\,t} = \frac{\mu}{R^2(t)}\int_0^{R(t)}(u - \widetilde{u})\,r^2\,dr, \;\widetilde{u} \in (0,\,\bar{u}),\eqno(2) \] \[ u(r,0)= u_0(r) \;\text{in} \;0 \leq r \leq R(0) = R_0, \;\text{where} \;0 \leq u_0(r) \leq \bar{u}. \eqno(3) \] The authors prove the following results. (1) Let \(\alpha(t) = \alpha\)= const. For any \(\alpha > 0\) and \(\widetilde{u} \in (0,\,\bar{u})\) the problem (1)--(3) has an unique steady state solution \((u_*(r),\, R_*)\) such that \(R_* \to 0\) as \(\alpha \to 0\), and \(R_* \to R_{*,D}\) as \(\alpha \to \infty\), where \(R_{*,D}\) is a definite value. (2) Under some conditions on \(\alpha(t)\), \ \(\mu\), \ \(\widetilde{u}\), \ the free boundary \(R(t)\) is uniformly bounded. (3) If \(\lim_{t\to 0}\alpha(t) = 0\) and \(\mu({\bar u} - \widetilde{u}) < 1, \) then \(\lim_{t\to \infty}R(t) = 0\). (4) Let \(\mu {\bar u} > 1\). Then for sufficiently small \(\widetilde{u}\) there exist \(\alpha(t)\) satisfying \(\lim_{t\to \infty}\alpha(t) = 0\), initial data \((u_0, R_0)\) such that a free boundary goes to \(\infty\) exponentially as \(t \to \infty\). (5) Under certain conditions on \(\alpha(t)\) there exists \(\mu_*\) such that for any \(\mu \in (0,\mu_*)\) and the initial data (\(u_0, \;R_0\)) \ \(\lim_{t\to\infty}R(t) = R_*, \;\lim_{t\to\infty}u(r,t) = u_*(r)\), where \((u_*(r),\, R_*)\) are definite.