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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.


Other Word Forms

  • metastatically adverb

Etymology

Origin of metastatic

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Anktiva, in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor, received accelerated approval in Saudi Arabia earlier this year for the treatment of metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer.

From Barron's

Importantly, metastatic potential was not determined by a single cell's profile, but by how groups of related cancer cells interact with each other.

From Science Daily

The trial involved 12 people with several types of metastatic cancer, including melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, and different forms of breast cancer.

From Science Daily

‘I want it to be useful,’ says former Sen. Ben Sasse, diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer last year at age 54.

From The Wall Street Journal

“In our opinion, increasing clinical trends that support Stage IV as metastatic and Stage III as ‘earlier stage’ cancer suggests the test’s performance in Stage IV cancer could bear meaningful weight,” he said.

From Barron's