Impact of chemo-immunotherapy on tumour-immune interactions: a non-autonomous model of tumor necrosis factor and T cell dynamics

Abstract

This study explores the interaction between cancer cells, helper T cells, cytotoxic T cells, and tumour necrosis factors in chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatment in the microenvironment [1]. The goal is to analyze the connection of helper and cytotoxic T-cell levels with the anti-tumour immune response and the impact of various dosing regimens when combined with immunotherapy and chemotherapy. These protocols aim to shorten the interval between treatment cycles from three to two weeks or less to prevent tumour regrowth and maximize its cell elimination by treatment. Motivated by clinical trials, we thoroughly compare procedures involving two medications supplied sequentially or simultaneously in a non-autonomous system. We discussed the positivity and boundedness of the model. Further, we analyze the biologically valid equilibria and investigate their local stability properties, examining transcritical, saddle-node, Hopf, and Bogdanov-Takens bifurcations numerically and analytically [2]. Furthermore, direction and stability conditions for periodic solutions are determined.