Targeted Cancer Treatment in Silico. Small Molecule Inhibitors and Oncolytic Viruses

Targeted Cancer Treatment in Silico. Small Molecule Inhibitors and Oncolytic Viruses. By NL. Komarova, D. Wodarz. 2014, pp. 227, Eur 53.49, ISBN: 978-1-4614-8300-7. Birkhauser, Springer Science + Business Media, New York, NY, USA.

This book outlines how mathematical and computational approaches can be used to advance our understanding of cancer therapies and to improve treatment design and outcome. Each treatment technique, including surgery, chemo- and radiotherapy, antiangiogenic drugs, and most recently, small molecule inhibitors and oncolytic viruses, tends to have a certain effectiveness in a specific class of patients, but it is often unclear what exactly causes it to succeed or fail.

This volume comprises of two parts, corresponding to two types of targeted cancer treatment: small molecule inhibitors and oncolytic viruses. In each part, the authors provide a brief overview of the treatment's biological basis and present the mathematical methods most suitable for modeling it. Additionally, they discuss how these methods can be applied to answer relevant questions about treatment mechanisms and propose modifications to treatment approaches that may potentially increase success rates.

The book is intended for both the applied mathematics and experimental oncology communities, as mathematical models are becoming an increasingly important supplement to laboratory biology in the fight against cancer.