For the musical composition, see Metastaseis (Xenakis). For the film, see Metastases (film). For the Spanish-language remake of Breaking Bad, see Metástasis.
Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body;[1] the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor.[2] The newly pathological sites, then, are metastases (mets).[3][4] It is generally distinguished from cancer invasion, which is the direct extension and penetration by cancer cells into neighboring tissues.[5]
Cancer occurs after cells are genetically altered to proliferate rapidly and indefinitely. This uncontrolled proliferation by mitosis produces a primary heterogeneic tumour. The cells which constitute the tumor eventually undergo metaplasia, followed by dysplasia then anaplasia, resulting in a malignant phenotype. This malignancy allows for invasion into the circulation, followed by invasion to a second site for tumorigenesis.
Some cancer cells known as circulating tumor cells acquire the ability to penetrate the walls of lymphatic or blood vessels, after which they are able to circulate through the bloodstream to other sites and tissues in the body.[6] This process is known (respectively) as lymphatic or hematogenous spread. After the tumor cells come to rest at another site, they re-penetrate the vessel or walls and continue to multiply, eventually forming another clinically detectable tumor.[citation needed] This new tumor is known as a metastatic (or secondary) tumor. Metastasis is one of the hallmarks of cancer, distinguishing it from benign tumors.[7] Most cancers can metastasize, although in varying degrees. Basal cell carcinoma for example rarely metastasizes.[7]
When tumor cells metastasize, the new tumor is called a secondary or metastatic tumor, and its cells are similar to those in the original or primary tumor.[8] This means that if breast cancer metastasizes to the lungs, the secondary tumor is made up of abnormal breast cells, not of abnormal lung cells. The tumor in the lung is then called metastatic breast cancer, not lung cancer. Metastasis is a key element in cancer staging systems such as the TNM staging system, where it represents the "M". In overall stage grouping, metastasis places a cancer in Stage IV. The possibilities of curative treatment are greatly reduced, or often entirely removed when a cancer has metastasized.
^"Metastasis", Merriam–Webster online, accessed 20 Aug 2017.
^"What is Metastasis?". Cancer.Net. 2 February 2016.
^Klein CA (September 2008). "Cancer. The metastasis cascade". Science. 321 (5897): 1785–7. doi:10.1126/science.1164853. PMID 18818347. S2CID 206515808.
^Chiang AC, Massagué J (December 2008). "Molecular basis of metastasis". The New England Journal of Medicine. 359 (26): 2814–23. doi:10.1056/NEJMra0805239. PMC 4189180. PMID 19109576.
^"Invasion and metastasis". Cancer Australia. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2018-10-26.
^Maheswaran S, Haber DA (February 2010). "Circulating tumor cells: a window into cancer biology and metastasis". Current Opinion in Genetics & Development. 20 (1): 96–9. doi:10.1016/j.gde.2009.12.002. PMC 2846729. PMID 20071161.
^ abKumar V, Abbas AK, Fausto N, Robbins SL, Cotran RS (2005). Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease (7th ed.). Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders. ISBN 978-0-7216-0187-8.
^"O que é a metástase?" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Dr. Felipe Ades MD PhD—Oncologista. 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2018-10-23.
the most common metastasis locations from solid tumors. In lymph node metastasis, a common symptom is lymphadenopathy Lung metastasis: cough, hemoptysis...
in the diagnosis of cancerous bone metastasis. A radionuclide bone scan or scintigraphy can identify bone metastasis. Technetium-99m–labeled bisphosphonate...
Tumor suppressors, however, also inhibit metastasis, since metastasis is dependent upon tumorigenicity. Metastasis suppressors were first identified using...
secondary brain tumor. The metastasis typically shares a cancer cell type with the original site of the cancer. Metastasis is the most common cause of...
carcinomatosis, leptomeningeal disease (LMD), leptomeningeal metastasis, meningeal metastasis and meningeal carcinomatosis. It occurs with cancers that are...
Lymph node metastasis is the spread (metastasis) of cancer cells into a lymph node. Lymph node metastasis is different from malignant lymphoma. Lymphoma...
cancers, nearby lymph nodes may be tested for spread (metastasis). Most people are cured if metastasis has not occurred. For those in whom melanoma has spread...
prevent or reduce metastasis. Those steps which have a good clinical window are the best targets for therapy. Each event in metastasis is highly regulated...
Metastasis is common in the late stages of cancer and it can occur via the blood or the lymphatic system or both. The typical steps in metastasis are...
A liver metastasis is a malignant tumor in the liver that has spread from another organ affected by cancer. The liver is a common site for metastatic disease...
intravasation. A newly identified metastasis suppressor, p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), is able to suppress metastasis in part by causing specific proteases...
permitted an enhanced detection of metastasis. Currently, the diagnosis of central nervous system, or CNS, metastasis involves high-scale imaging to produce...
The Metastasis Research Society (MRS) is an international professional society dedicated to metastasis research and treatment. Headquartered in Tampa,...
lung metastasis can be studied by crossing MMTV-PyMT mice with Csf-1−/− mice. The role of an innate and adaptive immune response to assist metastasis can...
(NFCR) Center for Metastasis Research at KU. His research is in the area of metastasis suppressor genes and the biology of metastasis. He is known for...
Cancer and Metastasis Reviews is a quarterly peer-reviewed medical review journal covering oncology and the development of new cancer treatments. It was...
cancer. Metastasis to regional lymphnodes is common as the tonsil has a rich supply of lymphatics giving way to the tumor cells to metastasis to other...
lymphatogenous metastasis is relatively unlikely. When the growth is between 1 and 3 mm in depth, the risk of lymphatogenous metastasis approaches 8%....
A micrometastasis is a small collection of cancer cells that has been shed from the original tumor and spread to another part of the body through the lymphovascular...
(T), the absence or presence of metastasis to nearby lymph nodes (N), and the absence or presence of distant metastasis (M). The most common stage at diagnosis...
in Commons: File:Metastasis sites for common cancers.svg Cingam SR, Karanchi H (2022). "Adrenal Metastasis". Cancer, Adrenal Metastasis. StatPearls. PMID 28722909...
Numbers 0 and 1, with subgroups, describe the metastasis status: M0: No evidence of distant metastasis M1a: Spread to 1 other part of the body beyond...
classification (tumor, node, metastasis). This is based on the size of the primary tumor, lymph node involvement, and distant metastasis. TMN evaluation allows...
corticotropic hormone (previously adrenocorticotropic hormone [ACTH]). Bone metastasis is uncommon. Hindgut NETs are argentaffin negative and rarely secrete...
metastases can cause pain, bone fractures, and compression of the spinal cord. Metastasis into the bone marrow can deplete blood cells and cause leukoerythroblastosis...
tumors will appear at other places in the body, a phenomenon known as metastasis. Less commonly, a metastatic tumor is found first; but in most such cases...
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