Mathematical simulation of temperature distribution in tumor tissue and surrounding healthy tissue treated by laser combined with indocyanine green

BACKGROUND: Photothermal therapy is a local treatment method for cancer and the heat energy generated from it could destroy the tumor cells. This study is aimed to investigate the temperature distribution in tumor tissue and surrounding health tissue of tumor bearing mice applying mathematical simulation model. Tumor bearing mice treated by laser combined with or without indocyanine green. Monte Carlo method and the Pennes bio-heat equation were used to calculate the light distribution and heat energy. COMSOL Multiphysic was adopted to construct three dimensional temperature distribution model. RESULTS: This study revealed that the data calculated by simulation model is in good agreement with the surface temperature monitored by infrared thermometer. Effected by the optical parameters and boundary conditions of tissue, the highest temperature of tissue treated by laser combined with indocyanine green was about 65 °C which located in tumor tissue and the highest temperature of tissue treated by laser was about 43 °C which located under the tumor tissue. The temperature difference was about 20 °C. Temperature distribution in tissue was not uniform. The temperature difference in different parts of tumor tissue raised up to 15 °C. The temperature of tumor tissue treated by laser combined with indocyanine green was about 20 °C higher than that of the surrounding healthy tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Reasonably good matching between the calculated temperature and the measured temperature was achieved, thus demonstrated great utility of our modeling method and approaches for deepening understand in the temperature distribution in tumor tissue and surrounding healthy tissue during the laser combined with photosensitizer. The simulation model could provide guidance and reference function for the effect of photothermal therapy. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12976-019-0107-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.