Mathematical analysis of a cancer model with time-delay in tumor-immune interaction and stimulation processes

In this study, we discuss a cancer model considering discrete time-delay in tumor-immune interaction and stimulation processes. This study aims to analyze and observe the dynamics of the model along with variation of vital parameters and the delay effect on anti-tumor immune responses. We obtain sufficient conditions for the existence of equilibrium points and their stability. Existence of Hopf bifurcation at co-axial equilibrium is investigated. The stability of bifurcating periodic solutions is discussed, and the time length for which the solutions preserve the stability is estimated. Furthermore, we have derived the conditions for the direction of bifurcating periodic solutions. Theoretically, it was observed that the system undergoes different states if we vary the system’s parameters. Some numerical simulations are presented to verify the obtained mathematical results.