Defining a simulation strategy for cancer immunocompetence

Abstract

Although there are various types of cancer treatments, none of these currently take into account the effect of ageing of the immune system and hence altered responses to cancer. Recent studies have shown that in vitro stimulation of T cells can help in the treatment of patients. There are many factors that have to be considered when simulating an organism's immunocompetence. Our particular interest lies in the study of loss of immunocompetence with age. We are trying to answer questions such as: Given a certain age of a patient, how fit is their immune system to fight cancer? Would an immune boost improve the effectiveness of a cancer treatment given the patient's immune phenotype and age? W..