metastasis

/me'tæstəsis/

Thân thiện

A doctor points to a scan showing metastasis in a patient's chart.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The spread of a disease, especially cancer, from its original site to another part of the body: This is the primary medical meaning, describing the process by which cancer cells break away from a primary tumor and travel through the blood or lymph system to form new tumors in other organs.
   • (Biology) Transformation or change of form: In a broader biological context, it can refer to a change in state, position, or substance.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The patient's prognosis worsened after the discovery of metastasis to the liver.
  • Doctors are trying to prevent the metastasis of the cancer.
  • The biopsy confirmed that the new growth was a metastasis from the primary lung tumor.

Advanced Usage

• "Distant metastasis": Refers to cancer that has spread to organs or tissues far from the original tumor site.
  • The presence of distant metastasis often indicates a more advanced stage of the disease.
• "Metastasis-free survival": A term used in clinical trials to describe the length of time after treatment during which no metastasis is detected.
  • The new drug significantly improved metastasis-free survival in the study participants.

Variants and Related Words

• Metastasize (verb): The process of forming metastases.
  • The cancer cells began to metastasize.
• Metastatic (adjective): Characterized by or relating to metastasis.
  • She was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.
• Metastases (plural noun): The secondary tumors themselves.
  • Multiple metastases were found in her bones.

Synonyms

• Spread (of a disease)
• Dissemination (medical/formal)
• Secondary growth (in oncology)

Related Phrases

• "Site of metastasis": The specific organ or location where the cancer has spread.
  • The brain is a common site of metastasis for this type of cancer.
• "Pattern of metastasis": The typical way a particular cancer spreads to other body parts.
  • Understanding the pattern of metastasis helps guide treatment.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the spreading of a disease (especially cancer) to another part of the body