Table a1 Modelling assumptions
1. Growth model | a. The growth curve model is Gompertzian. |
b. The Gompertz plateau is treated as known. | |
c. The growth parameter t1 has a minimum value (Tg), treated as known. | |
d. t1– Tg has a lognormal distribution. | |
2. RTB model | a. RTB has a rescaled log β distribution from 10−6 to 109 cells. |
b. RTB parameters are linear functions of node group. | |
c. The cure threshold is treated as known. | |
d. The recurrence detection threshold is treated as known. | |
3. Effect of chemotherapy | a. Tumours are either fully resistant or sensitive to chemotherapy. |
b. The log-kill hypothesis holds among sensitive tumours. | |
c. Any changes in drug sensitivity over time, such as clonal selection or resistance induction, can be ignored. | |
d. Any other effects of chemotherapy, such as changes in growth rates of surviving cells, antiangiogenic effects, or suppression of immune function, can be ignored. | |
4. Miscellaneous | a. The growth curve, residual body burden, and resistant/sensitive patient class are independent. |
b. Estimates of RTB and growth curve distributions obtained from an untreated sample are valid for treated patients. | |
c. Estimates of the proportion of sensitive tumours obtained from the 10+ node sample are valid for other patient groups. |
