Metastases - a secondary cancers occurring outside the tissue in which the tumor began to develop first. The process by which cancer cells spread to other parts of the body and form metastases, called metastasis.

Metastatic cancer retains the name of the primary tumor. For example, if breast cancer Breast cancer - the verdict?   had metastasized to the lungs, tumor formation in the lungs is called metastatic breast cancer, not lung cancer Lung cancer - prevention is better than cure . The cells look under the microscope metastases as well as primary tumor cells. Moreover, they have a common molecular features, e.g., protein expression, and the presence of specific chromosomal changes.

Some types of metastatic cancer can be cured with current therapies, but most of them are treatable. At the stage of metastasis primary goal of treatment is to relieve symptoms and, in some cases, the extension of life.

Most deaths with cancer occurs because of metastases.

Any type of cancer can lead to the formation of metastases. Although rare, cases are recorded when the blood cancer Blood cancer - do not despair   and lymphatic system leads to the formation of metastases in the lungs, heart, central nervous system and other tissues.

In most cases, metastasis formation in the lung, liver and bone. The table shows the most common sites of metastasis formation (except for lymph nodes) for some types of cancer. Parts of the body are listed in order of decreasing frequency of metastases formation in them.

How is metastasis

Typically, metastasis occurs in several stages:

• Local invasion - cancerous cells invade the surrounding healthy tissue of the primary tumor.
• Intravazatsiya - cancer cells get into the cells surrounding the blood or lymph vessels.
• Circulation - cancer cells through the blood or lymphatic system to move to other areas of the body.
• Extravasation - stop cancer cells in capillaries distant from the primary tumor area penetrate into their walls and fall into the surrounding tissue.
• Proliferation - multiplication of cancer cells and the formation of small tumors, known as micrometastases.
• Angiogenesis - micrometastases stimulate the formation of new blood vessels to provide blood flow to the newly formed tumor.

The ability of cancer cells to metastasize successful depends on their individual properties, the properties of non-cancerous tissue cells in the region where the primary tumor, as well as properties of the cells in the bloodstream and lymphatic system and where they can be formed metastases. Not all cancer cells themselves are able to metastasize. Furthermore, some cells of the body can block the formation of metastases. Moreover, the achievement of the cancer cells a particular place in the body does not necessarily immediately turns the formation of metastases. The cells can remain dormant for many years until it will start to grow again - and in some cases they did not begin to grow at all.

Symptoms

Symptoms of metastatic cancer metastasis depend on the size and location of their occurrence. For example, in bone metastases can cause severe pain in the body and lead to an easy formation of fractures. Symptoms of brain metastases can be a severe headache Headache: Causes and Complications , Seizures, changes in the level of consciousness, and so forth. In some cases, a patient diagnosed with cancer only when they have any symptoms caused by metastases.

In the treatment of metastases can be used: systemic therapy (chemotherapy, biological therapy, hormone therapy), local therapy (surgery, radiotherapy) or a combination of various methods. As mentioned above, the treatment in such cases is in relieving the patient's condition. The likelihood of achieving remission is very low.

Cancer of the stomach - is one of the most common cancers. Each year it claims the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world. In general, any cancer, stomach cancer starts with a mutation in the DNA of cells. Because of this mutation cancer cells grow faster and live longer than normal cells.

Symptoms

In most cases of stomach cancer is non-specific symptoms such as:

• Fatigue;
• Bloating after meals;
• Feeling full after eating small amounts of food;
• Heartburn;
• Dyspepsia;
• Nausea;
• Stomach pain;
• Vomiting;
• Weight loss.

If you have these symptoms, do not ignore them and wait until they pass themselves. Although in most cases, these signs point to less serious violations, you must undergo a medical examination.

Causes

Experts found a strong link between a diet rich in smoked, salted and pickled foods and stomach cancer. As soon as the storage of food products are increasingly used refrigeration equipment, the incidence of stomach cancer has been reduced.

Types of stomach cancer

The type gastric cancer is defined by cells that form the tumor. There are the following types of gastric cancer:

• Cancer that begins to develop in the glandular cells (adenocarcinoma). Glandular cells that cover the inside walls of the stomach secrete a slimy layer, which protects the stomach wall from the digestive juices. Adenocarcinoma - is the most common type of stomach cancer.
• Lymphoma - cancer of the stomach, which begins to develop in the cells of the immune system The immune system - how it works? . On the walls of the stomach there is a small number of cells of the immune system, which can start to develop cancer. This is a rare type of stomach cancer.
• Carcinoid cancer of the stomach begins to develop in cells that produce hormones. As lymphoma, relatively rare.
• Stromal tumors of the gastrointestinal tract originates in cells of the nervous system that are in the stomach. Much rarer adenocarcinoma.

Because other types of gastric cancer are rare, the term "stomach cancer" usually refers to adenocarcinoma.

Risk factors

Factors that increase the risk of gastric cancer:

• Excess salt and smoked foods in the diet;
• Lack of fruits and vegetables in the diet;
• Eating foods contaminated with aflatoxin fungus;
• Stomach cancer is a family history;
• Infections due to Helicobacter pylori;
• Long-term inflammation of the stomach (chronic gastritis);
• Pernicious anemia Anemia - when you do not have enough blood ;
• Smoking;
• Gastric polyps.

Diagnostics

For the diagnosis of gastric cancer are used:

• Upper endoscopy Endoscopy - not only diagnosis but also treatment procedure . Through the throat into the stomach introduced a thin tube with a camera on the end that allows you to see the internal structures. If the doctor finds a suspicious growths, it can immediately take a sample of tissue for laboratory analysis (biopsy).
• Imaging techniques, which include computed tomography (CT) and a special type of X-ray studies also reveal the cancer of the stomach.

Stomach cancer

The stage of cancer is determined by a CT scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), silt special surgical procedures.

There are the following stages of stomach cancer:

• Stage 1. Tumor tissue grows on the inner lining of the stomach. Cancer cells may spread to a limited number of adjacent lymph nodes.
• Stage 2. Cancer is moving deeper, it grows into the muscle layer of the stomach wall. It can also spread to an increasing number of lymph nodes.
• Stage 3. At this stage, the cancer grows through all the layers of the stomach wall, or if the cancer is small, the cancer cells spread to an increasing number of lymph nodes.
• Stage 4. Cancer begins to spread beyond the stomach, it grows into adjacent structures or spread to the lymph nodes located far from the stomach.

As in most cases of stomach cancer detected only in the later stages, the chances of successful treatment and survival of patients is low. Only 15% of patients after diagnosis live longer than five years.