How Endometrial Cancer Spreads
Endometrial cancer behaves differently in each woman. Even women who have the same type of cancer in the same stage and who get the same treatment can have different results. Most women are cured, while others have cancer that spreads or comes back. Doctors do not know the reason for this difference. They think it may be because each woman's tumor cells are different and grow at different rates.
What a particular cancer looks like and how it spreads away from the original tumor is called its pathophysiology. If endometrial cancer spreads, it tends to first go to places near the uterus, such as the fallopian tubes, ovaries, cervix, and vagina. It can then spread to the lymph nodes, bladder, and rectum. Advanced stages of endometrial cancer can spread as far as the bones and lungs. Fortunately, most endometrial cancer cases are discovered in the early stages.
Cancer that spreads to other parts of the body is called metastatic cancer, and the process is called metastasis. Metastasis is a complicated process. The cancerous cells of the tumor invade normal tissues, blood vessels, and the lymph system. They then travel through the bloodstream and lymph system to reach other parts of the body where they invade and form new tumors.