How cancer spreads through the body
In order for a tumor to spread to distant sites, cancer cells must detach from the original tumor, pass into the circulation, enter into distant tissues, survive and grow in their new microenvironment.
In each of these steps, the cancer cells face new challenges, which they need to cope with by acquiring new properties. The most difficult barriers to metastasis are the escape from a primary tumor and the colonization in a foreign tissue. Traveling through the circulation is relatively easy in comparison.
|
Review Date:
1/1/2025 Reviewed By: Frank D. Brodkey, MD, FCCM, Associate Professor, Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team. |
The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, timeliness, or correctness of any translations made by a third-party service of the information provided herein into any other language. © 1997-
A.D.A.M., a business unit of Ebix, Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.
© 1997-
All rights reserved.
All rights reserved.