metastasis

me·tas·ta·sis | \ mə-ˈta-stə-səs

plural metastases\ mə-ˈta-stə-ˌsēz

Definition of metastasis

1a : change of position, state, or form

b : the spread of a disease-producing agency (such as cancer cells) from the initial or primary site of disease to another part of the body metastasis of breast cancer to bone — Medical Physics also : the process by which such spreading occurs

2 : a secondary malignant (see malignant sense 1) tumor resulting from metastasis

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Examples of metastasis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But most of the time, a single tumor is not deadly—cancer typically kills by spreading through the body, a process known as metastasis. — Douglas Main, National Geographic, "Rare cancers spreading among sea creatures have scientists perplexed," 8 Nov. 2019 Proceeds support the breast cancer metastasis research efforts of Kay MacLeod, Ph.D., at the Ben May Department for Cancer Research at the University of Chicago. — Felicia Dechter, chicagotribune.com, "Cemetery comes alive as actors play long-dead Oak Park characters," 9 Oct. 2019 Ben-Eliyahu has focused on the drugs' potential to prevent metastasis after surgery, when residual disease often lingers around the surgical site or in distant parts of the body. — Kelly Servick, Science | AAAS, "How the body’s nerves become accomplices in the spread of cancer," 12 Sep. 2019 At the Georgia Institute of Technology, for example, James E. Dahlman’s laboratory is rapidly identifying safer gene therapies; others are figuring out how to combat drug resistance and prevent cancer metastasis. — Sang Yup Lee, Scientific American, "DNA Data Storage Is Closer Than You Think," 1 July 2019 But breast tumors from women getting the drug cocktail expressed fewer genes associated with metastasis than tumors of women taking placebo. — Kelly Servick, Science | AAAS, "How the body’s nerves become accomplices in the spread of cancer," 12 Sep. 2019 The show picks up both its biography and its anthropology of corporate and social cultures in 1995, when Ailes’s idea to create Fox News began its metastasis. — Troy Patterson, The New Yorker, "“The Loudest Voice” Eviscerates Roger Ailes and Fox News," 30 June 2019 In the past few years, physicists studying metastasis have generated surprisingly precise predictions of cell behavior. — Gabriel Popkin, Quanta Magazine, "Jammed Cells Expose the Physics of Cancer," 16 Aug. 2016 Last year, Djamgoz found that suppressing his particular sodium channels with a drug could stop metastasis in rats with prostate cancer. — Sally Adee, Quartz, "Our bodies are full of electricity that could help us fight cancer," 30 May 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'metastasis.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

18 Nov 2019

Time Traveler for metastasis

The first known use of metastasis was in 1663

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More Definitions for metastasis

metastasis

noun

me·tas·ta·sis | \ mə-ˈtas-tə-səs

plural metastases\ -ˌsēz

Medical Definition of metastasis

1a : change of position, state, or form

b : the spread of a disease-producing agent (as cancer cells or bacteria) or disease from the initial or primary site of disease to another part of the body The overwhelming concern about prostate cancer is its potential for metastasis—for cells to escape the gland and take root in lymph nodes, bones, lungs, skin, or other tissue.— Tom Alexander, Fortune, 20 Sept. 1993 also : the process by which such spreading occurs

2 : a secondary malignant tumor resulting from metastasis … radiation has no known effect on distant metastases from breast cancer …— David Plotkin, The Atlantic Monthly, June 1996