A Hormone Therapy Model for Breast Cancer Using Linear Cancer Networks

Hormone therapy is a viable technique used to treat endocrine receptor positive cancers. Using the recently developed theory of cancer networks, we create a mathematical model describing the growth of an estrogen-receptive cancer governed by a linear cancer network. We then present hormone therapy as a drug that blocks the estrogen receptors of different cells in the network. Depending on the effectiveness of the drug, the model predicts coexistence of healthy and cancerous cells as well as a cure state. In the case of coexistence, the carrying capacities of all cancerous cells are reduced by hormone therapy, increasing effectiveness of other treatments such as surgery. keywords: cancer stem cells, breast cancer, hormone therapy, tamoxifen Acknowledgements: A special thanks to my research mentor Dr. Zachary Abernathy, program director Dr. Joseph Rusinko, and the 2013 NREUP at Winthrop University funded by NSA grant H98230-13-1-0270 and NSF grant DMS-1156582. Page 144 RHIT Undergrad. Math. J., Vol. 15, No. 1