metastasis

noun

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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Other Words from metastasis

metastatic \ ˌme-tə-ˈsta-tik

\ adjective

metastatically \ ˌme-tə-ˈsta-ti-k(ə-)lē

\ adverb

Examples of metastasis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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 Herbert Levine, a biophysicist at Rice University, and his late colleague Eshel Ben-Jacob of Tel Aviv University recently created a model of metastasis based on concepts borrowed from nonlinear dynamics. — Gabriel Popkin, Quanta Magazine, "Jammed Cells Expose the Physics of Cancer," 16 Aug. 2016 But that ranges from 30% for those with distant metastases to 82% for those with only localized cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. — Michael Nedelman, CNN, "Actress shines light on HPV's link to anal cancers," 6 June 2019 Only 5 percent of the funds raised for breast cancer research are put towards researching metastasis. — Kara Wahlgreen, Good Housekeeping, "How Metastatic Breast Cancer Changed My Definition of “Hope”," 24 Sep. 2018 There’s no further evidence of metastases in the brain. — Marie Mccullough, Philly.com, "Can the abortion pill treat advanced lung cancer? This infertility expert wants to find out," 3 July 2018 Researchers often inject tumor cells into the bloodstream of mice to approximate what happens during metastasis when cancer cells must navigate the bloodstream to find a new home in the body. — Viviane Callier, Scientific American, "Aspirin May Prevent Cancer from Spreading, New Research Shows," 1 May 2017

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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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