Analysis of a delayed EBV oncovirus dynamics model

Azizah Alrajhi; Afnan D. Al Agha; Azizah Alrajhi; Afnan D. Al Agha

doi:10.3934/math.2026960

AIMS Mathematics

2026, Volume 11, Issue 8: 23847-23867. doi: 10.3934/math.2026960

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Research article

Analysis of a delayed EBV oncovirus dynamics model

Azizah Alrajhi ¹,
Afnan D. Al Agha ^{2
,
,}

1.
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80203, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
2.
Department of Mathematical Science, College of Engineering, University of Business and Technology, Jeddah 21361, Saudi Arabia

Received: 02 May 2026 Revised: 27 June 2026 Accepted: 08 July 2026 Published: 04 August 2026
MSC : 34K20, 37N25, 92B05, 92C50

About $ 1.5\% $ of all cancers worldwide are attributed to the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). Mathematical models have been used to support clinical trials in identifying potential treatments for many diseases. This paper proposes a delayed within-host model of EBV oncovirus dynamics. The model analyzes the interactions between uninfected B cells, actively infected B cells, latently infected B cells, cancerous infected B cells, EBV particles, and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). We establish the nonnegativity and boundedness of the model solutions. We derive all equilibrium points and demonstrate their local stability. We execute sensitivity analyses of the reproduction numbers $ \mathcal{R}_{V} $ and $ \mathcal{R}_{I} $. We conduct several numerical simulations. Based on our results, increasing the value of $ a_{1} $, which measures the role of the EBV in weakening the ability of CTLs to kill infected cells, raises the concentration of infected B cells in the body. This can lead to more severe EBV infections. Moreover, increasing the value of $ a_{2} $, which measures the role of the EBV in impairing the natural death of cancer cells, increases the concentration of cancer cells in the body. In addition, increasing the values of the time delays in the absence of CTLs increases the concentration of healthy cells and reduces the concentrations of actively infected cells and cancer cells. Additionally, the results show that the basic reproduction number $ \mathcal{R}_{V} $ is sensitive to the proliferation rate of the EBV, the production rate of uninfected cells, the infection rate, and the death rates of uninfected and actively infected cells. Thus, the values of these parameters should be carefully estimated.
- B cells,
- EBV,
- oncovirus,
- cancer,
- stability
Citation: Azizah Alrajhi, Afnan D. Al Agha. Analysis of a delayed EBV oncovirus dynamics model[J]. AIMS Mathematics, 2026, 11(8): 23847-23867. doi: 10.3934/math.2026960

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Abstract

About $ 1.5\% $ of all cancers worldwide are attributed to the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). Mathematical models have been used to support clinical trials in identifying potential treatments for many diseases. This paper proposes a delayed within-host model of EBV oncovirus dynamics. The model analyzes the interactions between uninfected B cells, actively infected B cells, latently infected B cells, cancerous infected B cells, EBV particles, and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). We establish the nonnegativity and boundedness of the model solutions. We derive all equilibrium points and demonstrate their local stability. We execute sensitivity analyses of the reproduction numbers $ \mathcal{R}_{V} $ and $ \mathcal{R}_{I} $. We conduct several numerical simulations. Based on our results, increasing the value of $ a_{1} $, which measures the role of the EBV in weakening the ability of CTLs to kill infected cells, raises the concentration of infected B cells in the body. This can lead to more severe EBV infections. Moreover, increasing the value of $ a_{2} $, which measures the role of the EBV in impairing the natural death of cancer cells, increases the concentration of cancer cells in the body. In addition, increasing the values of the time delays in the absence of CTLs increases the concentration of healthy cells and reduces the concentrations of actively infected cells and cancer cells. Additionally, the results show that the basic reproduction number $ \mathcal{R}_{V} $ is sensitive to the proliferation rate of the EBV, the production rate of uninfected cells, the infection rate, and the death rates of uninfected and actively infected cells. Thus, the values of these parameters should be carefully estimated.

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