One of the most difficult things about treating cancer is that each case is a very individual process; tumors recruit blood vessels in order to grow, yet also send out new vessels of their own. This harnessing of the body’s resources is what eventually allows a tumor to metastasize — be carried into other parts of the body where growth continues. On the other hand, sometimes tumors don’t grow at all. Predicting each patient’s unique response to cancer and its progression is a large part of the battle, as an accurate estimate is required to begin appropriate treatment. The field of Oncology is always seeing exciting developments, and this latest one is no different — its benefits touch future and existing cancer patients, alike. Knowing that hindsight is 20/20, it would be a lot easier if there was a “fast-forward button” with which doctors could view each unique case before it develops.

Physicist Sehyo Choe and colleagues at the University of Heidelberg, Germany have developed such a button in the form of a mathematical model. By inputting data about the tumor and its current location of blood vessels, the model allows doctors and researchers to see how the tumor will grow and move — if at all — giving them a very accurate helping hand when it comes to prompt and accurate treatment. Tested on mice, the model accurately predicted the progression of all cancer-stricken subjects, giving researchers that amazing “fast-forward” capability.

Co-author Neil Johnson from the University of Miami says that “in the future, treatments will no longer have to be based on population averages. People will get individual treatment based on the predictions of our model.” Using mathematics to model and predict the world around us is no simple matter — creating a model that works so well, especially on something as complex as an organic disease, is a complex ordeal. As scientists join forces with mathematicians and physicists, new solutions are uncovered and immense problems can be viewed from multiple angles; combining the knowledge and expertise of several disciples is a sure way to make progress. With added testing, this model will hopefully be available in hospitals around the world very soon, giving all patients the invaluable gift of personalized and increasingly effective cancer treatment.

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All images: article figures, via New Scientist