On the dynamics and optimal control of a mathematical model of neuroblastoma and its treatment

Celyvir is an advanced therapy medicine consisting of mesenchymal stem cells containing the oncolytic virus ICOVIR 5. In this study, a mathematical model is formulated and analyzed, which attempts to capture the fundamental relationships between cancer, the immune system, and adenoviruses. An optimal control problem with a non-linear objective functional is also formulated, where the therapeutic goal is not only to minimize the size of the tumor cell population and the total cost of treatment but also to prevent the tumor from reaching a critical size. It is shown that a periodic bang-bang regime should be used to optimize treatment with Celyvir.
Results obtained in collaboration with Juan Belmonte-Beitia and Jose Garcia Otero from the Mathematical Oncology Laboratory at the University of Castilla-La Mancha in Ciudad Real, Spain.