# Mathematical Modeling of Cancer-Bacterial Therapy: Analysis and Numerical Simulation via Physics-Informed Neural Networks

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.19326 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.19326/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 9 of its 62 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 18 Mar 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 9 of 9)

- [PyTorch: An Imperative Style, High-Performance Deep Learning Library](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01703/) (2019)
- [DeepONet: Learning nonlinear operators for identifying differential equations based on the universal approximation theorem of operators](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.03193/) (2019)
- [On the approximation of functions by tanh neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.08938/) (2021)
- [From PINNs to PIKANs: Recent Advances in Physics-Informed Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.13228/) (2024)
- [Error estimates for physics informed neural networks approximating the Navier-Stokes equations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.09346/) (2022)
- [Physics-informed neural network simulation of multiphase poroelasticity using stress-split sequential training](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.03049/) (2021)
- [Quantitative in vivo imaging to enable tumor forecasting and treatment optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.12602/) (2021)
- [Physics-informed Neural Networks for Heterogeneous Poroelastic Media](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.03372/) (2024)
- [PINN-Obs: Physics-Informed Neural Network-Based Observer for Nonlinear Dynamical Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.06712/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Bacterial cancer therapy exploits anaerobic bacteria's ability to target hypoxia tumor regions, yet the interactions among tumor growth, bacterial colonization, oxygen levels, immunosuppressive cytokines, and bacterial communication remain poorly quantified. We present a mathematical model of five coupled nonlinear reaction-diffusion equations in a two-dimensional tissue domain. We proved the global well-posedness of the model and identified its steady states to analyze stability. Furthermore, a physics-informed neural network (PINN) solves the system without a mesh and without requiring extensive data. It provides convergence guarantees by combining residual stability and Sobolev approximation error bounds. This results in an overall error rate of O(n^-2 ln^4(n) + N^-1/2), which depends on the network width n and the number of collocation points N. We conducted several numerical experiments, including predicting the tumor's response to therapy. We also performed a sensitivity analysis of certain parameters. The results suggest that long-term therapeutic efficacy may require the maintenance of hypoxia regions in the tumor, or using bacteria that tolerate oxygen better, may be necessary for long-lasting tumor control.