Metastatic cancer; Cancer metastases
Metastasis is the movement or spreading of cancer cells from one organ or tissue to another. Cancer cells usually spread through the blood or the lymph system.
If a cancer spreads, it is said to have "metastasized."
Whether or not cancer cells spread to other parts of the body depends on many things, including:
Treatment depends on the type of cancer and where it has spread.
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Rankin EB, Giaccia AJ. Cellular microenvironment and metastases.In: Niederhuber JE, Armitage JO, Kastan MB, Doroshow JH, Tepper JE, eds. Abeloff's Clinical Oncology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 3.BACK TO TOP
Review Date: 10/10/2020
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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