TGI-Simulator: A visual tool to support the preclinical phase of the drug discovery process by assessing in silico the effect of an anticancer drug

This paper presents TGI-Simulator, a software tool designed to show, through a 2-D graphical animation, the simulated time effect of an anticancer drug on a tumor mass by exploiting the well-known Tumor Growth Inhibition (TGI) model published by Simeoni et al. [1]. Simeoni TGI model is a mathematical model routinely used by pharma companies and researchers during the drug development process. The application is based on a Java graphical user interface (GUI) including a self installing differential equation solver implemented in Matlab together with an optimization algorithm that performs model identification via Weighted Least Squares (WLS). However, it can graphically show also the simulation results obtained within other scientific software tools, if they are preventively stored into a suitable ASCII file. The tool would be a valid support also for researchers with no specific skills in scientific calculations and in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic modeling but daily involved in pharma companies drug development processes at different levels. The availability of a movie with a temporal varying 2-D iconographic representation is an original instrument to communicate results and learn Simeoni TGI model and its potential application in preclinical studies.