Computer simulation of clinical irradiation schemes applied to in vitro tumor spheroids.

In this contribution the attempt is made to study the effect of irradiation on in vitro tumor spheroids by computer simulation applying clinical treatment schedules. The starting point is a computer model stimulating the spatial (three-dimensional) growth of a tumor spheroid, developed by our group previously. In the present paper, this model is extended by creating a comfortable data input with a graphical interface. This expansion includes characteristic features of radiotherapy (sensitivity, repair capacity, reoxygenation, repopulation) and therapy schedules. In this way, it is possible to test different clinical irradiation schemes on in vitro tumor spheroids by computer experiments (standard and non-standard fractionations). In the long run the aim of our work is to optimize irradiation schedules by computer simulation prior to clinical therapy.