Modeling the survival of T-cell lymphocytes using compound branching processes
Abstract
Radiotherapy has been a method of choice in cancer treatment for a number of years. Mathematical modeling is an important tool in studying the survival behavior of any cell as well as its radiosensitivity. One particular cell under investigation is the normal T-cell, the radiosensitivity of which may be indicative to the patient's tolerance to radiation doses. The model derived is a compound branching process with a random initial population of T-cells that is assumed to have compound distribution. T-cells in any generation are assumed to double or die at random lengths of time. This population is assumed to undergo a random number of generations within a period of time. The model is then used to obtain an estimate for the survival probability of T-cells for the data under investigation. This estimate is derived iteratively by applying the likelihood principle. Further assessment of the validity of the model is performed by simulating a number of subjects under this model. This study shows that there is a great deal of variation in T-cells survival from one individual to another. These variations can be observed under normal conditions as well as under radiotherapy. The findings are in agreement with a recent study and show that genetic diversity plays a role in determining the survival of T-cells.
Subject Area
Biostatistics|Public health|Radiology
Recommended Citation
Elsouki, Rabih, "Modeling the survival of T-cell lymphocytes using compound branching processes" (1993). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI9401770.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI9401770