Metastasize means to spread to other parts of your body by metastasis. Cancer metastasis means transmission of cancer cells from a site of origin to one or more sites elsewhere, usually by way of blood vessels, lymphatic system or spinal fluid. And metastases is just the plural form of metastasis.
Metastasized cancer means cancer cells match the cells where the cancer originated rather than cells in the location where the cancer is discovered. So, if you have a cancer that arose in your lung and metastasize to your liver, then the metastasized cancer cells in your liver are actually lung cancer cells.
When tumors metastasize, the tumor that forms at the remote site is referred to as a metastatic tumor. Whereas, the original tumor they spread from is called the primary tumor.
The three most common sites for cancer metastasis are lung, liver and bone. Metastasized cancer growing in your lung and liver frequently causes few, if any, symptoms, so detection is often delayed. However, bone metastasis generally causes bone pain or fractures earlier on. The vast majority of cancers that metastasize and spread to bone are:
Metastasis of cancer to your brain is the most common type of intracranial tumors in adults. And lung cancer is the most common type of cancer that metastasize to the brain, followed by breast, melanoma, kidney and colon cancers.
Cancer cells can spread to lymph nodes near your primary tumor, but this spread is not generally considered metastasized cancer. Yet, once cancer has reached you lymphatics, it worsens your prognosis because it indicates that cancer’s opportunity to metastasize via this pathway is in motion.
Once cancer metastasize to other tissues and organs, your chance of survival drops significantly. And some cancers may cause death without metastasis involvement, i.e. leukemia and blood cancers.