metastasis

[muh-tas-tuh-sis]

noun

plural

metastases 

1. Pathology.

   1. the transference of disease-producing organisms or of malignant or cancerous cells to other parts of the body by way of the blood or lymphatic vessels or membranous surfaces.

   2. the condition produced by this.

2. transformation.

3. Rhetoric.,  a rapid transition, as from one subject to another.

4. Physics.,  a change in position or orbit of an elementary particle.

metastasis

/ mɪˈtæstəsɪs, ˌmɛtəˈstætɪk /

noun

1. pathol the spreading of a disease, esp cancer cells, from one part of the body to another

2. a transformation or change, as in rhetoric, from one point to another

3. a rare word for metabolism

metastasis

1. A cancerous tumor formed by transmission of malignant cells from a primary cancer located elsewhere in the body.

Other Word Forms

• metastatic adjective
• metastatically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of metastasis¹

First recorded in 1580–90, metastasis is from the Greek word metástasis “a changing”; meta-, stasis

Word History and Origins

Origin of metastasis¹

C16: via Latin from Greek: transition

Example Sentences

Although this difference was not statistically significant, those treated with pembrolizumab had a 42% lower chance of developing distant metastases, meaning cancer that spread to areas such as the liver, lungs, or bones.

Read more on Science Daily

"By building the right immune infrastructure inside tumors, we can potentiate the patient's own defenses -- both T cell and B cell arms -- against cancer growth, relapse, and metastasis."

Read more on Science Daily

When the mice were systemically exposed to melanoma cells to mimic metastasis, none of the nanoparticle-vaccinated mice developed lung tumors, while every other mouse did.

Read more on Science Daily

He had head and neck metastatic cancer, and he ultimately succumbed to lung metastasis, according to CNN, which obtained a cremation approval summary report from the medical examiner’s office in Pinellas County, Florida.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This process is called metastasis and is the cause of the majority of deaths from cancer.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• changeover 
• conversion 
• development 
• evolution 
• growth 
• passage 
• progress 
• progression 
• shift 
• transformation 
• upheaval