Cancer is one of the most serious diseases due to its ability to spread cancer cells throughout the body, affecting nearby organs and tissues, but also more distant locations. These cancer cells that reach the other organs are known as metastases.
Although the metastases are in another organ, they continue to be formed by cancer cells from the initial tumor and, therefore, it does not mean that cancer has developed in the new affected organ. For example, when breast cancer causes metastasis in the lung, the cells remain the breast and must be treated in the same way as breast cancer.
Main symptoms
In most cases, metastases do not cause new symptoms, however, when these symptoms occur they vary according to the affected site, including:
- Pain in the bones or frequent fractures, in case of affecting the bones; Difficulty in breathing or sensation of shortness of breath, in the case of metastases in the lungs; Severe and constant headache, seizures or frequent dizziness, in the case of brain metastases; Skin and yellow eyes or swelling of the belly if it affects the liver.
However, some of these symptoms may also arise due to cancer treatment, and it is advisable to inform the oncologist of all new symptoms, so that the possibility of being related to the development of metastases is evaluated.
Metastases are indicative of malignant neoplasms, that is, that the organism was not able to fight the abnormal cell, favoring the abnormal and uncontrolled proliferation of malignant cells. Understand more about malignancy.
How metastasis happens
Metastasis happens due to the low efficiency of the organism with regard to the elimination of abnormal cells. Thus, malignant cells start to proliferate in an autonomous and uncontrolled way, being able to pass through the walls of the lymph nodes and blood vessels, being transported by the circulatory and lymphatic system to other organs, which may be close to or far from the primary tumor site.
In the new organ, the cancer cells accumulate until they form a tumor similar to the original. When they are in large numbers, the cells are able to cause the body to form new blood vessels to bring more blood to the tumor, favoring the proliferation of more malignant cells and, consequently, their growth.
Main sites of metastasis
Although metastases can appear anywhere on the body, the areas that are most often affected are the lungs, liver and bones. However, these locations may vary according to the original cancer:
| Type of cancer | Most common metastasis sites |
| Thyroid | Bones, liver and lung |
| Melanoma | Bones, brain, liver, lung, skin and muscles |
| Mama | Bones, brain, liver and lungs |
| Lung | Adrenal glands, bones, brain, liver |
| Stomach | Liver, lung, peritoneum |
| Pancreas | Liver, lung, peritoneum |
| Kidneys | Adrenal glands, bones, brain, liver |
| Bladder | Bones, liver and lung |
| Intestine | Liver, lung, peritoneum |
| Ovaries | Liver, lung, peritoneum |
| Uterus | Bones, liver, lung, peritoneum and vagina |
| Prostate | Adrenal glands, bones, liver and lung |
Is metastasis curable?
When the cancer spreads to other organs, it is more difficult to reach a cure, however, the treatment of metastases must be kept similar to the treatment of the original cancer, with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, for example.
The cure is difficult to be achieved because the disease is already at a more advanced stage, and the presence of cancer cells in various parts of the body can be observed.
In the most severe cases, in which the cancer is very developed, it may not be possible to eliminate all metastases and, therefore, the treatment is done mainly to relieve symptoms and delay the development of cancer. Understand how cancer treatment is done.
