The Institute of Mathematics and its Applications

Scottish Branch

Evening lecture and AGM

“Evolving cancer chemotherapy: a combination of mathematical modelling
and computational intelligence”

Dr John McCall

Thursday, 6^th March 2008, 6.30 p.m.

Livingstone Tower L831: University of Strathclyde

Cancer is a major disease in Western Europe and North America, accounting for one in three of all deaths. The problem is particularly acute in Scotland where, for a range of reasons, both the incidence of cancer and mortality rates from many forms of the disease are higher than in other comparable nations. This talk describes how mathematical modelling and heuristic optimisation can be used in combination to assist in the design of more effective cancer treatments. We will review some mathematical approaches to modelling tumour growth and the response to chemotherapy. This leads to the formulation of a series of optimal control problems that capture the objectives and constraints of chemotherapy. Typical objectives include tumour eradication, minimising the severity of toxic side effects, and prolonging the lives of patients with incurable cancers.

These problems prove intractable to traditional optimisation techniques and so we explore the use of heuristic optimisation. We focus on how Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) can use mathematical models to evolve a best-possible feasible drug-delivery schedule that meets certain objectives, singly or as part of a multi-objective optimisation.

Non-IMA members welcome to attend.

Refreshments available from 6.00 pm

The Annual General Meeting of IMA Scottish Branch will follow after the talk commencing at approximately 7.30.