Drug transport modeling in solid tumors: A computational exploration of spatial heterogeneity of biophysical properties

Inadequate uptake of therapeutic agents by tumor cells is still a major barrier in clinical cancer therapy. Mathematical modeling is a powerful tool to describe and investigate the transport phenomena involved. However, current models for interstitial flow and drug delivery in solid tumors have not yet embedded the existing heterogeneity of tumor biomechanical properties. The purpose of this study is to introduce a novel and more realistic methodology for computational models of solid tumor perfusion and drug delivery accounting for these regional heterogeneities as well as lymphatic drainage effects. Several tumor geometries were studied using an advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling approach of intratumor interstitial fluid flow and drug transport. Hereby, the following novelties were implemented: (i) the heterogeneity of tumor-specific hydraulic conductivity and capillary permeability; (ii) the effect of lymphatic drainage on interstitial fluid flow and drug penetration. Tumor size and shape both have a crucial role on the interstitial fluid flow regime as well as drug transport illustrating a direct correlation with interstitial fluid pressure (IFP) and an inverse correlation with drug penetration, except for large tumors having a diameter larger than 50 mm. The results also suggest that the interstitial fluid flow and drug penetration in small tumors depend on tumor shape. A parameter study on the necrotic core size illustrated that the core effect (i.e. fluid flow and drug penetration alteration) was only profound in small tumors. Interestingly, the impact of a necrotic core on drug penetration differs depending on the tumor shape from having no effect in ideally spherical tumors to a clear effect in elliptical tumors with a necrotic core. A realistic presence of lymphatic vessels only slightly affected tumor perfusion, having no substantial effect on drug delivery. In conclusion, our findings illustrated that our novel parametric CFD modeling strategy in combination with accurate profiling of heterogeneous tumor biophysical properties can provide a powerful tool for better insights into tumor perfusion and drug transport, enabling effective therapy planning.

Automated summary

This study introduces a novel computational modeling approach to account for the regional heterogeneities and lymphatic drainage effects in solid tumor perfusion and drug delivery. The results suggest that tumor size, shape, and heterogeneity have a significant impact on interstitial fluid flow and drug penetration.