Cancer 101: Shapeshifting, invasion, and metastasis

In 10 seconds? You’ve learned about cancer’s stages of progression in our last 101 Digest. But why do some cancers metastasize and others don’t? Today, we delve deeper into cancer cell biology and break down the key players that promote cancer progression.

Remind me about metastasis. Cancer’s capacity to spread, or metastasize, is its most deadly feature, accounting for the majority of cancer-related deaths. It is an extremely complex process and we still have a ton to learn before we fully understand it. Why? For cancer to metastasize, it must undergo extensive cellular changes, travel through the bloodstream, reach a new site in the body, reverse the cellular changes, and then colonize a new organ.