Question

What is metastatis?

Answer 1

It is cancer that forms in a different area from where the original cancer is located.

Explanation:

If you have a tumor in one of your lymph nodes for example, it is possible for a few of those cancer cells to break off and migrate and create an entirely new tumor in a different location in the body. This is called Metastasization.

Answer 2

Metastasis is the spread of a pathogenic agent (bacteria, virus, cancer) from a primary location to a secondary location in a body. The newly pathological sites are called metastases (mets).

Explanation:

You hear this term most commonly used to describe cancers because they reproduce at an unstable rate, forming into a tumor. Some tumor cells, called circulating tumor cells, have the ability to penetrate through lymphatic or blood vessels, thus spreading the cancer along in the blood stream. Metastasis is one of the main identifiers that distinguishes a cancerous tumor (can spread throughout body) and a benign tumor (unable to move). If a person's cancer has metastasized, they will be likely in Stage IV and therefore have a lower chance of survival.

Example: If a person has a breast cancer that metastasizes into their lungs, it's called a metastatic lung cancer, not just lung cancer, because the abnormal cells are abnormal breast cells, not abnormal lung cells. They would then possibly be categorized as "Stage IV Breast Cancer".