A 3D CFD model of the interstitial fluid pressure and drug distribution in heterogeneous tumor nodules during intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Although intraperitoneal chemotherapy (IPC) has evolved into an established treatment modality for patients with peritoneal metastasis (PM), drug penetration into tumor nodules remains limited. Drug transport during IPC is a complex process that depends on a large number of different parameters (e.g.

Modelling drug transport during intraperitoneal chemotherapy.

Despite a strong rationale for intraperitoneal (IP) chemotherapy, the actual use of the procedure is limited by the poor penetration depth of the drug into the tissue. Drug penetration into solid tumours is a complex mass transport process that involves multiple parameters not only related to the used cytotoxic agent but also to the tumour tissue properties and even the therapeutic setup. Mathematical modelling can provide unique insights into the different transport barriers that occur during IP chemotherapy as well as offer the possibility to test different protocols or drugs without the need for experiments.

Tumour tissue transport after intraperitoneal anticancer drug delivery.

Intraperitoneal (IP) drug delivery, either as an intraoperative chemoperfusion or as an adjuvant, repeated instillation, is an established treatment modality in patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis. The efficacy of IP drugs depends on its ability to penetrate the tumour stroma in order to reach their (sub)cellular target. It is known, that drug penetration after IP delivery is limited to a few millimetres.

Mathematical modeling of intraperitoneal drug delivery: simulation of drug distribution in a single tumor nodule.

The intraperitoneal (IP) administration of chemotherapy is an alternative treatment for peritoneal carcinomatosis, allowing for higher intratumor concentrations of the cytotoxic agent compared to intravenous administration. Nevertheless, drug penetration depths are still limited to a few millimeters. It is thus necessary to better understand the limiting factors behind this poor penetration in order to improve IP chemotherapy delivery.