Evaluating the influence of mechanical stress on anticancer treatments through a multiphase porous media model

•Low-proliferating cell populations contribute to drug resistance.•Compressive stresses act on tumors by inhibiting cell proliferation.•We analyze the combined effects of drug action and mechanical compression.•Mechanical compression of tumors may compromise drug efficacy.

Drug resistance is one of the leading causes of poor therapy outcomes in cancer. As several chemotherapeutics are designed to target rapidly dividing cells, the presence of a low-proliferating cell population contributes significantly to treatment resistance. Interestingly, recent studies have shown that compressive stresses acting on tumor spheroids are able to hinder cell proliferation, through a mechanism of growth inhibition. However, studies analyzing the influence of mechanical compression on therapeutic treatment efficacy have still to be performed. In this work, we start from an existing mathematical model for avascular tumors, including the description of mechanical compression. We introduce governing equations for transport and uptake of a chemotherapeutic agent, acting on cell proliferation. Then, model equations are adapted for tumor spheroids and the combined effect of compressive stresses and drug action is investigated. Interestingly, we find that the variation in tumor spheroid volume, due to the presence of a drug targeting cell proliferation, considerably depends on the compressive stress level of the cell aggregate. Our results suggest that mechanical compression of tumors may compromise the efficacy of chemotherapeutic agents. In particular, a drug dose that is effective in reducing tumor volume for stress-free conditions may not perform equally well in a mechanically compressed environment.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (91KB)Download full-size image