Tumor cell invasion is an essential hallmark in the progression of malignant cancer. Thereby, cancer cells migrate through the surrounding tissue (normal cells, extracellular matrix, interstitial fluid) towards blood or lymph vessels which they penetrate and thus access the blood flow. They are carried by blood circulation to distant locations where they extravasate and develop new tumors, a phenomenon known as metastasis.
Cells in tissues are exposed to complex interactions with other cells, with chemical cues and with mechanical constraints, where, at the same time, they perform complicated functions. The dynamics of a tumor in terms of development, proliferation, invasion, and treatment is decisively influenced by this complexity, whose understanding can help improving therapy approaches or even devising new ones.
Mathematical models offer a powerful tool to gain insight into the complicated biological processes connected to tumor invasion. A large variety of modeling approaches has been proposed during the last decay, ranging from (semi)discrete settings to continuous formulations and addressing various biological aspects on one or several scales, in deterministic or stochastic frameworks. Some of the new developments in the field of biomedical oncology were inspired by such models. Beyond, however, their aim to describe biomedical relevant facts, the models have also stimulated advanced mathematical research.
The huge development of experimental techniques together with the advent of powerful computing facilities to handle highly complex models can advance interdisciplinary knowledge about tumor dynamics and treatment options. It is the aim of this workshop to bring together scientists working on these timely and challenging topics of mathematical oncology and to offer an international framework for strengthening the synergies between the involved branches of applied mathematics, but also between mathematics and life sciences.