Ovarian Cancer Transmesothelial Migration

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among gynecological malignancies. The high mortality rate is essentially due to cell ability to cross the mesothelial lining of the peritoneum and form widespread metastasis. This book illustrates a mathematical model able to reproduce in vitro transmesothelial migration assays of ovarian cancer cells, both isolated and aggregated in multicellular spheroids. The model integrates: (a) an Extended Cellular Potts Model (CPM), that captures mechanisms of cellular adhesion, shape constraints and motion; (b) a continuous model for the diffusion of chemoattractants; (c) a continuous model for matrix metalloproteinases released by tumor cells. The results predicted are in good agreement with biological experiments and they point out the principal biological phenomena and their influence on the overall process of invasion. This analysis could help understanding the potentiality of mathematical models in predicting cellular behaviors and should be especially useful to biologists that want to have a look into possible tools to enhance their researches and to mathematicians interested in applying their knowledge to biological systems