Multinomial model-based formulations of TCP and NTCP for radiotherapy treatment planning

Roukaya Keinj (1, 2) , Thierry Bastogne (2, 3) , Pierre Vallois (1, 2)

1 IECN - Institut Élie Cartan de Nancy
2 BIGS - Biology, genetics and statistics
3 CRAN - Centre de Recherche en Automatique de Nancy

Hit and target models of tumor growth, typically assume that all surviving cells have a constant and homogeneous sensitivity during the radiotherapy period. In this study, we propose a new multinomial model based on a discrete-time Markov chain, able to take into account cell repair, cell damage heterogeneity and cell proliferation. The proposed model relies on the 'Hit paradigm' and 'Target' theory in radiobiology and assumes that a cancer cell contains m targets which must be all deactivated to produce cell death. The surviving cell population is then split up into m categories to introduce the variation of cancer cell radio-sensitivity according to their damage states. New expressions of the tumor control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) are provided. Moreover, we show that hit and target models may be regarded as particular cases of the multinomial model. Numerical results should permit to keep the efficiency of treatment with a lower total radiation dose then that given by the typical hit models, which allows to decrease side effects.

Mots clés: multinomial model; Markov chain; radiotherapy; tumor growth

Domaines: Bio-Informatique, Biologie Systémique [q-bio.QM]; Bio-informatique [q-bio.QM]

Roukaya Keinj, Thierry Bastogne, Pierre Vallois. Multinomial model-based formulations of TCP and NTCP for radiotherapy treatment planning. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 2011, 279 (1), pp.55-62. ⟨10.1016/j.jtbi.2011.03.025⟩. ⟨hal-00588935⟩