Department of Mathematics

Speaker: Kasia Rejniak
Title: Tumor Microenvironmental Niches in Drug Delivery: The Role of Interstitial Fluid, Tissue Architecture and Metabolic Landscapes
Affiliation: University of South Florida
Date: Friday, October 31, 2014
Place and Time: Room 101, Love Building, 3:35-4:30 pm
Refreshments: Room 204, Love Building, 3:00 pm

Abstract. The interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironment are complex, and this complexity is leveraged when both tumor and stromal cells are exposed to anticancer therapeutic agents. I will present a model based on fluid-structure interaction techniques (the regularized Stokeslet method) that allows for exploring the role of the interstitial fluid flow and tumor tissue architecture on the extent of drug and biomarker distribution into the tissue. Our model is calibrated with experimental data from pancreatic cancers that contain significant amounts of stromal tissue contributing to poor penetration of metabolites. As a result these tumors are hypoxic and thus have a potential to respond to hypoxia-activated pro-drugs (HAPs). We use this interdisciplinary approach to investigate complex interplay between HAPs and tumor microenvironmental heterogeneity, and to test various strategies to make these tumors more sensitive to HAPs in order to enhance their therapeutic efficacy.