What is a medical word used in cancer diagnoses meaning spread of disease from one part of the body to another?

Answer 1

Metastasis or metastatic means cancer cells have spread (usually using the blood stream) to another part of the body from the site of origin. Most cancers have been researched enough to know the common sites of metastasis for each type of cancer. For example, melanomas affecting the skin can "met" to the liver (as another site). Because cancers are usually metastatic, doctors examine and use specialized technology to look at all sites where cancer cells could travel to for that specific type of cancer cell.