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 tumour. 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 neighbouring 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 an aplasia, 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 tumour 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 tumour 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.

Journal of Cancer Research and Immuno-Oncology is an open access rapid peer reviewed journal in the field of cancer research. Journal announces papers for the upcoming issue. Interested can submit their manuscript through online portal.

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