Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spread from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, then, are metastases (mets). It is generally distinguished from cancer invasion, which is the direct extension and penetration by cancer cells into neighboring tissues. 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. 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. This new tumor is known as a metastatic (or secondary) tumor. Metastasis is one of the hallmarks of cancer, distinguishing it from benign tumors. Most cancers can metastasize, although in varying degrees. Basal cell carcinoma for example rarely metastasizes. 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. 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".

About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Ontological neighbourhood
Related courses (8)
BIO-392: Oncology
This course provides a comprehensive overview of the biology of cancer, illustrating the mechanisms that cancer cells use to grow and disseminate at the expense of normal tissues and organs.
BIO-684: Hot Topics in Cancer Research
(1) To expose PhD students to cutting-edge research in the field of Cancer Research through attendance of lectures given by world-leading distinguished scientists in the field.
BIOENG-399: Immunoengineering
Immunoengineering is an emerging field where engineering principles are grounded in immunology. This course provides students a broad overview of how engineering approaches can be utilized to study im
Show more
Related lectures (36)
All Projects: Overview
Covers various projects related to measuring, analyzing, and quantifying different biological processes.
Metastasis Sites
Explores a dataset of liver images to measure visual differences in metastasis sites using various metrics.
Targeting and Receptor: Liposomes in Cancer Treatment
Explores the use of liposomes for targeted cancer treatment, highlighting the challenges and promising results of drug delivery systems.
Show more
Related publications (222)

Unveiling breast cancer metastasis through an advanced X-ray imaging approach

Marianne Liebi

Breast cancer is a significant global health burden, causing a substantial number of deaths. Systemic metastatic tumour cell dissemination is a major cause of poor outcomes. Understanding the mechanisms underlying metastasis is crucial for effective interv ...
Berlin2024

Association between endocrine adjuvant therapy intake timing and disease-free survival in patients with high-risk early breast cancer: results of a sub-study of the UCBG- UNIRAD trial

Elise Hélène Dumas, Fabrice André

Background Circadian rhythms regulate cellular physiology and could in fl uence the ef fi cacy of endocrine therapy (ET) in breast cancer (BC). We prospectively tested this hypothesis within the UNIRAD adjuvant phase III trial (NCT01805271). Methods 1278 p ...
Elsevier2024

Milestones in tumor vascularization and its therapeutic targeting

Michele De Palma, Douglas Hanahan

Research into the mechanisms and manifestations of solid tumor vascularization was launched more than 50 years ago with the proposition and experimental demonstrations that angiogenesis is instrumental for tumor growth and was, therefore, a promising thera ...
Nature Portfolio2024
Show more
Related concepts (41)
Cancer staging
Cancer staging is the process of determining the extent to which a cancer has grown and spread. A number from I to IV is assigned, with I being an isolated cancer and IV being a cancer that has metastasized and spread from its origin. The stage generally takes into account the size of a tumor, whether it has invaded adjacent organs, how many regional (nearby) lymph nodes it has spread to (if any), and whether it has appeared in more distant locations (metastasized).
Colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel movements, weight loss, and fatigue. Most colorectal cancers are due to old age and lifestyle factors, with only a small number of cases due to underlying genetic disorders. Risk factors include diet, obesity, smoking, and lack of physical activity.
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of tumors. A medical professional who practices oncology is an oncologist. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (ónkos), meaning "tumor", "volume" or "mass". Oncology is concerned with: The diagnosis of any cancer in a person (pathology) Therapy (e.g.
Show more

Graph Chatbot

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.