Cancer cells who leave their point of origin and settle in another organ causing cancer there, have metastasized. The breakaway cells are transported through your body via the blood or lymph systems. Sometimes the initial cancer is not detected until a tumor is located in another part of the body. For example, a doctor finds a tumor in your lung, biopsies it and finds it to be a breast cell, he knows that there is cancer in one or both of your breasts.
It is a basic cellular process that goes awry causing cancer cells to detach from their tumor. Either the old cells do not die like they should or the cellular glue that holds cells together has disintegrated and a cell or cells break away. The body has numerous defenses against these cells but, in a process that is not yet completely understood, the cancer cells override the good cells and establish a residence away from the primary tumor. Once cancer has metastasized in the lymph system, it is usually at a late stage and treatment is complicated. The outcome is often poor. That is why doctors will often remove the lymph nodes near a tumor site in case some cancer cells have migrated.
Not all cancer cells who begin their journey to take up residence elsewhere survive. The blood system contains platelets, T-cells, natural killer cells and special cells, macrophages, that kill cancer cells. It has to be a strong cell that avoids the body's natural defenses and blood turbulence without damage. It then has to find a suitable, survivable place to adhere and begin to grow another tumor. Not all cancer cells such as basal cell carcinomas and leukemia cells are able to metastasize. Much research is needed to fully understand the process of metastasis.
It is a basic cellular process that goes awry causing cancer cells to detach from their tumor. Either the old cells do not die like they should or the cellular glue that holds cells together has disintegrated and a cell or cells break away. The body has numerous defenses against these cells but, in a process that is not yet completely understood, the cancer cells override the good cells and establish a residence away from the primary tumor. Once cancer has metastasized in the lymph system, it is usually at a late stage and treatment is complicated. The outcome is often poor. That is why doctors will often remove the lymph nodes near a tumor site in case some cancer cells have migrated.
Not all cancer cells who begin their journey to take up residence elsewhere survive. The blood system contains platelets, T-cells, natural killer cells and special cells, macrophages, that kill cancer cells. It has to be a strong cell that avoids the body's natural defenses and blood turbulence without damage. It then has to find a suitable, survivable place to adhere and begin to grow another tumor. Not all cancer cells such as basal cell carcinomas and leukemia cells are able to metastasize. Much research is needed to fully understand the process of metastasis.
