Analysis and computation of some tumor growth models with nutrient: from cell density models to free boundary dynamics

Abstract

In this paper, we study the tumor growth equation along with various models for the nutrient component, including the \emph{in vitro} model and the \emph{in vivo} model. At the cell density level, the spatial availability of the tumor density $n$ is governed by the Darcy law via the pressure $p(n)=n^3$. For finite ${\hat{I}}^3$, we prove some a priori estimates of the tumor growth model, such as boundedness of the nutrient density, and non-negativity and growth estimate of the tumor density. As ${\hat{I}}^3\to \infty$, the cell density models formally converge to Hele-Shaw flow models, which determine the free boundary dynamics of the tumor tissue in the incompressible limit. We derive several analytical solutions to the Hele-Shaw flow models, which serve as benchmark solutions to the geometric motion of tumor front propagation. Finally, we apply a conservative and positivity preserving numerical scheme to the cell density models, with numerical results verifying the link between cell density models and the free boundary dynamical models.