Metastasis is the spread of a disease
from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ
or part. Only malignant tumor cells and infections
have the capacity to metastasize. Cancer cells can
"break away", "leak", or "spill"
from a primary tumor, enter lymphatic and blood vessels,
circulate through the bloodstream, and settle down
to grow within normal tissues elsewhere in the body.
Metastasis is one of three hallmarks of malignancy
(contrast benign tumors).
When tumor cells metastasize, the new tumor is called
a secondary or metastatic tumor, and its cells are
like those in the original tumor. This means, for
example, that, if breast cancer spreads (metastasizes)
to the lung, 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.
When cancer has metastasized, it may be treated
with radiosurgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy,
biological therapy, hormone therapy, surgery, laser-immunotherapy,
or a combination of these. The choice of treatment
generally depends on the type of primary cancer, the
size and location of the metastasis, the patient's
age and general health, and the types of treatments
used previously. In patients diagnosed with CUP ("Cancer
with unknown primary"), it is still possible
to treat the disease even when the primary tumor cannot
be located. The treatment options currently available
are rarely able to cure metastatic cancer, though
some tumors, such as testicular cancer, are usually
still curable.
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