metastatic

American  

[met-uh-stat-ik] / ˌmɛt əˈstæt ɪk /

adjective

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

   These blood vessels supply the tumor with nutrients and facilitate its metastatic spread.

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Other Word Forms

• metastatically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of metastatic

First recorded in 1760–70; metasta(sis) ( def. ) + -tic ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

metastatic

About half of patients with metastatic melanoma will get worse on first-line immunotherapies within a year, at which point they have scant options.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

He has now been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

A new drug called daraxonrasib offers a critical advance in treating metastatic pancreatic cancer.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2026

“These striking results firmly support daraxonrasib as the new standard of care for patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer, and usher in a new era of RAS-targeted therapy for patients living with this disease.”

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026

One woman with the BRCA1 mutation might develop an aggressive, metastatic variant of breast cancer at age thirty.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee