Immersive Visualization of a 3D Model of Tumor-Immune Dynamics

Interactions between cancer and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment lead to a progression of disease when cancer cells strategically bind to a set of inhibitory receptors on the immune cell surface. These inhibitory interactions render immune cells exhausted, or less able to recognize cancer as foreign, such that a T cell’s ability to recognize and respond to cancer is dependent on the level of exhaustion. We constructed a mathematical model for tumor-immune interactions intended for use in a virtual tumor microenvironment. By perturbing the system and prescribing biologically motivated rules to these interactions, we investigated the potential for exhaustion and our ability to intervene via immune checkpoint blockade. We projected this model system into a Cave Automatic Visualization Environment (CAVE) immersive virtual environment. Through immersion, we observed individual and local cell interactions in addition to the overall behavior of the system of interacting cells. The CAVE provided a new layer of spatial understanding and intuition. This model framework and visualization process is a tool that holds great potential to complement ongoing and future efforts in mathematical oncology.