Mathematical Formulation and Computational Implementation of a Fisher-KPP Model for Glioblastoma Invasion under Fractionated Radiotherapy
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Abstract
Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly infiltrative primary brain tumor, and reaction-diffusion models are widely used to describe how its cells spread and proliferate. We derive the classical Fisher-KPP equation from mass conservation, Fickian diffusion, and logistic growth, and extend it to fractionated radiotherapy through a linear-quadratic survival update applied to the tumor-density field at each fraction. The Fisher-KPP equation is solved by finite differences on a three-dimensional voxel grid with 0.5-mm spacing; Geant4 is used only for Monte Carlo photon transport and dose calculation. The schedule of 60~Gy in 30 fractions from the clinical case reported by Roda et al. is reproduced, and the simulated evolution is compared qualitatively with the clinical course as a demonstration only, without quantitative validation against patient-specific imaging data. The case report gives lesion dimensions at three time points but no serial pretreatment imaging, so the diffusion and proliferation parameters cannot be estimated for this patient and are taken from the literature. The results are a qualitative demonstration of the coupled model and do not constitute patient-specific validation.
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References
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TY - JOUR AU - Farias, Matheus dos Santos AU - Ferreira, Joiciane Sousa de Carvalho AU - Batista, Juciene dos Santos PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/07 TI - Mathematical Formulation and Computational Implementation of a Fisher-KPP Model for Glioblastoma Invasion under Fractionated Radiotherapy JO - ICCK Journal of Applied Mathematics T2 - ICCK Journal of Applied Mathematics JF - ICCK Journal of Applied Mathematics VL - 2 IS - 4 SP - 283 EP - 292 DO - 10.62762/JAM.2026.576302 UR - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JAM.2026.576302 KW - Fisher-KPP equation KW - glioblastoma KW - Geant4 KW - Monte Carlo simulation KW - radiotherapy KW - mathematical oncology AB - Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly infiltrative primary brain tumor, and reaction-diffusion models are widely used to describe how its cells spread and proliferate. We derive the classical Fisher-KPP equation from mass conservation, Fickian diffusion, and logistic growth, and extend it to fractionated radiotherapy through a linear-quadratic survival update applied to the tumor-density field at each fraction. The Fisher-KPP equation is solved by finite differences on a three-dimensional voxel grid with 0.5-mm spacing; Geant4 is used only for Monte Carlo photon transport and dose calculation. The schedule of 60~Gy in 30 fractions from the clinical case reported by Roda et al. is reproduced, and the simulated evolution is compared qualitatively with the clinical course as a demonstration only, without quantitative validation against patient-specific imaging data. The case report gives lesion dimensions at three time points but no serial pretreatment imaging, so the diffusion and proliferation parameters cannot be estimated for this patient and are taken from the literature. The results are a qualitative demonstration of the coupled model and do not constitute patient-specific validation. SN - 3068-5656 PB - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge LA - English ER -
@article{Farias2026Mathematic,
author = {Matheus dos Santos Farias and Joiciane Sousa de Carvalho Ferreira and Juciene dos Santos Batista},
title = {Mathematical Formulation and Computational Implementation of a Fisher-KPP Model for Glioblastoma Invasion under Fractionated Radiotherapy},
journal = {ICCK Journal of Applied Mathematics},
year = {2026},
volume = {2},
number = {4},
pages = {283-292},
doi = {10.62762/JAM.2026.576302},
url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JAM.2026.576302},
abstract = {Glioblastoma (GBM) is a highly infiltrative primary brain tumor, and reaction-diffusion models are widely used to describe how its cells spread and proliferate. We derive the classical Fisher-KPP equation from mass conservation, Fickian diffusion, and logistic growth, and extend it to fractionated radiotherapy through a linear-quadratic survival update applied to the tumor-density field at each fraction. The Fisher-KPP equation is solved by finite differences on a three-dimensional voxel grid with 0.5-mm spacing; Geant4 is used only for Monte Carlo photon transport and dose calculation. The schedule of 60~Gy in 30 fractions from the clinical case reported by Roda et al. is reproduced, and the simulated evolution is compared qualitatively with the clinical course as a demonstration only, without quantitative validation against patient-specific imaging data. The case report gives lesion dimensions at three time points but no serial pretreatment imaging, so the diffusion and proliferation parameters cannot be estimated for this patient and are taken from the literature. The results are a qualitative demonstration of the coupled model and do not constitute patient-specific validation.},
keywords = {Fisher-KPP equation, glioblastoma, Geant4, Monte Carlo simulation, radiotherapy, mathematical oncology},
issn = {3068-5656},
publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}
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