Micrometastasis

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Micrometastasis" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This article needs attention from an expert in Medicine. The specific problem is: Some content may not be easily understood by readers with no medical background. WikiProject Medicine may be able to help recruit an expert. (February 2024)

A micrometastasis is a small collection of cancer cells that has been shed from the original tumor and spread to another part of the body through the lymphovascular system.^[1] Micrometastases are too few in size and quantity to be picked up in a screening or diagnostic test, and therefore cannot be seen with imaging tests such as a mammogram, MRI, ultrasound, PET, or CT scans. These migrant cancer cells may group together to form a second tumor, which is so small that it can only be seen under a microscope. Approximately 90 per cent of people who die from cancer die from metastatic disease, since these cells are so challenging to detect.^[2] It is important for these cancer cells to be treated immediately after discovery, in order to prevent the relapse (regrowth of the cancer) and the likely death of the patient.