Abstract
Therapeutic vaccines are used to boost patients’ immune system activity by imposing signals that increase T cell proliferation or infiltration. A large population of cytotoxic T cells may then be able to reduce tumor growth. We developed here a mathematical model of vaccine-induced immunotherapy and used it to test the vaccine frequency and doses that can reduce tumor burden. Since tumors are heterogeneous, we examined if the proposed treatments are robust; i.e, are successful for a wide range of tumors. This was assessed by constructing virtual mice cohorts. Together, the optimal and most robust treatment protocol was determined through mathematical modeling.
Footnotes
This research was supported by the Moffitt Center for Immunization and Infection Research in Cancer (CIIRC) Award. The work of PB and MK was supported in part by the Jacobson Foundation for the Moffitt High-School Internship Program in Integrated Mathematical Oncology (HIP-IMO) during the summer of 2019.