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Articles on Metastasis

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Obesity is itself a disease, in addition to contributing to the onset and progression of other conditions such as diabetes, heart attack and stroke. (Shutterstock)

Obesity is a dangerous disease that shares key features with cancer

Obesity is a disease that shares several characteristics with cancer, but does not get the same society-wide recognition of its disease status, so people with obesity are less likely to get treatment.
A history of sunburns may put people at greater risk of developing skin cancer. dnberty/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Skin cancer screening guidelines can seem confusing – three skin cancer researchers explain when to consider getting checked

Widespread screening for skin cancer may not be necessary, but it is important to understand the risks behind UV overexposure and to get checked early if you have concerns.
Most tumors are made up of many different kinds of cancer cells, as shown in this pancreatic cancer sample from a mouse. Ravikanth Maddipati/Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania via National Cancer Institute

Every cancer is unique – why different cancers require different treatments, and how evolution drives drug resistance

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treating cancer. Understanding how cancer cells evolve could help researchers develop more effective drugs.
Hypoxia, or a state of low oxygen, can encourage tumors to spread. This microscopy image visualizes the microenvironment of a breast tumor. Steve Seung-Young Lee, Univ. of Chicago Comprehensive Cancer Center, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health via Flickr

Stopping the cancer cells that thrive on chemotherapy – research into how pancreatic tumors adapt to stress could lead to a new treatment approach

Some cancers are notoriously resistant to chemotherapy and not curable with surgery. Stopping tumors from adapting to the harsh microenvironments of the body could be a potential treatment avenue.
Tumor cells traverse many different types of fluids as they travel through the body. Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

How cancer cells move and metastasize is influenced by the fluids surrounding them – understanding how tumors migrate can help stop their spread

Counterintuitively, cells move faster in thicker fluids. New research on breast cancer cells explains why, and reveals the role that fluid viscosity plays in metastasis.
Activated platelets (purple) on their way to heal a wound. Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock.com

Platelets: The chameleons of cancer biology

Platelets heal wounds. But they also seem to play a paradoxical role in both promoting and inhibiting the growth of solid tumors.
Prostate cancer cell, viewed with a scanning electron microscope. royaltystockphoto.com/Shutterstock.com

Why cancer cells go to sleep

Cancer doesn’t just grow uncontrollably. It has a smarter strategy than that.
Prolonged periods of stress can aid in the spread of cancer. from shutterstock.com

Chronic stress effects help cancer spread, researchers find

Chronic stress accelerates cancer growth in mice, according to a new study, pointing to potential treatment targets to slow the progression of cancer to other organs.
Women with DCIS or stage 0 breast cancer have the same chance of dying from breast cancer as the rest of the population – 3.3%. CristinaMuraca/Shutterstock

Treating ‘stage 0’ breast cancer doesn’t always save women’s lives so should we screen for it?

We’re told that finding symptoms of disease early will prevent the more serious consequences. But for pre-cancerous lesions, also known as stage 0 breast cancer, the picture is much more complicated.
Good news, we have stopped the spread of cancer. National Cancer Institute

Nanoparticles cause cancer cells to die and stop spreading

More than nine in ten cancer-related deaths occur because of metastasis, the spread of cancer cells from a primary tumour to other parts of the body. While primary tumours can often be treated with radiation…

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