What Is Metastatic Cancer?
Metastatic cancer is cancer that has spread from its original location to a distant part of the body. Most metastatic cancers are not curable, although people with well-controlled metastatic cancer can live for many years.
Metastatic cancers are serious and difficult to treat. While most are incurable, they can be managed for months or even years with the right treatment. And certain kinds of metastatic cancer, such as testicular cancer, can be curable.
This article takes a closer look at metastatic cancers, where they’re likely to spread, and why the outlook for people with metastatic cancers can vary so much.
The first cancerous tumor that develops is the primary tumor. This tumor can grow big enough to push into nearby tissue and organs. Also, cells can break away from the tumor and spread through tissue to form new tumors in nearby tissues, organs, or lymph nodes.
Cancer cells can also enter your bloodstream or lymphatic system. From there, they can travel just about anywhere in your body. When tumors form in a distant part of your body, you have metastatic cancer. For many types of cancer, metastatic cancer is also known as stage 4 cancer.
Most of the time, metastatic cancer is not curable, though many cases are treatable. People with well-controlled metastatic cancer can live for many years.
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Advanced vs. metastatic cancer
Advanced cancer is typically cancer that cannot be cured. Advanced cancer can be locally advanced or metastatic. For example, some large brain tumors may be advanced even though they have not spread beyond the brain.
Metastatic cancer is cancer that has spread from the original tumor to a distant part of the body. But some metastatic cancers are not advanced. For example, some instances of metastatic testicular cancer are curable, according to the American Cancer Society .
Some doctors may use these words interchangeably, so it’s important to ask what they mean by “advanced” or “metastatic” cancer.
