A tumor model of drug resistance with mixed immunorherapy and chemothrapy: parameter estimation and dynamical analysis

Cancer drug resistance is one of the major challenges in current cancer treatment, which leads to a decline in the overall survival rate of cancer patients and substantially increases medical costs. More effective cancer treatment strategies that restore the sensitivity of cancer cells to targeted drugs are urgently presented. In this paper, a mathematical model is developed to investigate the interactions between sensitive-resistant cancer cells and immune effector cells under the influence of pharmacological agents. The existence of equilibrium points and their local stability are demonstrated by using theoretical analysis. Parameter estimation validates its rationality and effectiveness in characterizing the dynamic behavior of cancer cells. Moreover, numerical simulations are further corroborated the local stability of the equilibrium points, which shed light on the pivotal role of the immune system and the intensity of immunotherapy in tumor control. This work provides a theoretical foundation for optimizing cancer treatment strategies.