Link to the Show / Show NotesDetection and treatment of cancer have progressed, but neither is as precise as
doctors would like. For example, tumors can change shape or location between
pre-operative diagnosis and treatment so that radiation is aimed at a target which
may have moved. Geometry, partial differential equations, and integer linear
programming are three areas of mathematics used to process data in real-time,
which allows doctors to inflict maximum damage to the tumor, with minimum
damage to healthy tissue.
One promising area of investigation is virotherapy: using viruses to destroy
cancerous cells. Researchers are using mathematical models to discover how to
use the viruses most beneficially.The models provide numerical outcomes for each
of the many possibilities, thereby eliminating unsuccessful approaches and identifying
candidates for further experimentation.Testing by simulation, which led to
the development of anti-HIV cocktails, means good medicine is developed faster
and cheaper than it can be by lab experiments and clinical trials alone.
For More Information: Treatment Planning for Brachytherapy, Eva Lee, et al,
Physics in Medicine and Biology, 1999.
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