Methods, systems, and associated implantable devices for dynamic monitoring of physiological and biological properties of tumors

A tumor monitoring system for identifying enhanced active cancer treatment windows, comprising:

• at least one implantable sensor unit comprising a plurality of sensor elements and associated sensor electronics, wherein a plurality of said plurality of sensor elements are configured for in vivo in situ contact with a cancerous tumor in a subject undergoing treatment for cancer, and wherein said sensor elements are configured to detect a plurality of different parameters associated with the tumor and wirelessly transmit data associated with the detected parameters, wherein said plurality of different parameters includes at least two of the amount of radiation exposure at the tumor site, extracellular pH of the tumor, pH of normal tissue, tumor cell oxygenation, tumor cell proliferation and temperature;
• a remote receiver in wireless communication with said at least one sensor, said receiver configured to receive the transmitted data, wherein said receiver is spatially separate from said at least one sensor and positioned external to the subject;
• and
• a processor having computer readable program code for analyzing the transmitted data to identify the presence or absence of a favorable cancer treatment condition.

A computer program product for monitoring and analyzing the condition of a tumor in a patient undergoing cancer treatment, the computer program product comprising:

• a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium, said computer-readable program code means comprising:
• computer readable program code means for commencing a first wireless data transmission from an in situ wireless sensor with at least one sensor element positioned in a subject proximate to a tumor site undergoing treatment for cancer, the data transmission including data corresponding to the output of the at least one sensor element;
• computer readable program code means for commencing a second wireless data transmission from the in situ sensor temporally separate from the first wireless data transmission;
• computer readable program code means for tracking variation between the first and second data transmissions to provide a dynamic behavioral model of the tumor's response to the treatment;
• computer readable program code for analyzing the transmitted data to identify at least one favorable cancer treatment opportunity;
• computer readable program code means for evaluating at least one of (a) the amount of radiation exposure delivered to the tumor site from a cancer radiation treatment session, (b) cell proliferation associated with the tumor, (c) the response of normal tissue proximate the tumor site to the cancer treatment;
• (d) the value of at least one physiological or biological parameter of the tumor to evaluate efficacy of a cytotoxic or targeted drug or chemical treatment or to confirm delivery of the cytotoxic or targeted drug or chemical treatment to the tumor site, (e) a variation in the value of a physiological or biological parameter of the tumor from a predictive model, (f) the presence of an unfavorable cancer treatment period, and (g) the value of at least one physiological or biological parameter of the tumor to identify a receptiveness for a particular cancer therapy type.