Fractional Modeling of Cancer with Mixed Therapies

Background: Cancer is the biggest cause of mortality globally, with approximately 10 million fatalities expected by 2020, or about one in every six deaths. Breast, lung, colon, rectum, and prostate cancers are the most prevalent types of cancer. Methods: In this work, fractional modeling is presented which describes the dynamics of cancer treatment with mixed therapies (immunotherapy and chemotherapy). Mathematical models of cancer treatment are important to understand the dynamical behavior of the disease. Fractional models are studied considering immunotherapy and chemotherapy to control cancer growth at the level of cell populations. The models consist of the system of fractional differential equations (FDEs). Fractional term is defined by Caputo fractional derivative. The models are solved numerically by using Adams-Bashforth-Moulton method. Results: For all fractional models the reasonable range of fractional order is between beta = 0.6 and beta = 0.9. The equilibrium points and stability analysis are presented. Moreover, positivity and boundedness of the solution are proved. Furthermore, a graphical representation of cancerous cells, immunotherapy and chemotherapy is presented to understand the behaviour of cancer treatment. Conclusions: At the end, a curve fitting procedure is presented which may help medical practitioners to treat cancer patients.

Automated summary

This study presents a fractional modeling approach to describe the dynamics of cancer treatment using a combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy. The models are solved numerically and graphically represented to understand the behavior of cancer treatment.