what happens if cancer spreads to the lymph nodes

This page tells you nearly how cancers can spread. There is data about

The place where a cancer starts in the body is chosen the master cancer or main site. Cells from the principal site may break away and spread to other parts of the torso. These cells tin and so grow and form other tumours. These are chosen secondary cancers or metastases.

How cancer can spread to other areas of the body

Cancer cells can spread to other parts of the body through the bloodstream or lymphatic system Open a glossary item . There they can start to grow into new tumours.

Cancers are named according to where they first started developing. For example, bowel cancer that has spread to the liver is chosen bowel cancer with liver metastases or secondaries. Information technology is not chosen liver cancer. This is considering the cancerous cells in the liver are cancerous bowel cells. They are not liver cells that have go malignant.

In order to spread, some cells from the primary cancer must break away, travel to another part of the body and start growing there. Cancer cells don't stick together as well every bit normal cells do. They may besides produce substances that stimulate them to motion.

The diagram below shows a neoplasm in the cells lining a body structure such equally the bowel wall. The tumour grows through the layer property the cells in identify (the basement membrane).

Some cells tin can break away and go into small lymph vessels or blood vessels called capillaries nearby.

Spread through the bloodstream

Cancer cells can go into minor blood vessels and then get into the bloodstream. They are called circulating tumour cells (or CTCs).

Researchers are looking at using circulating tumour cells to diagnose cancer instead of a tissue sample ( biopsy Open a glossary item ). And at whether they can test circulating cancer cells to predict which treatments volition work improve. They are also looking to detect circulating neoplasm Deoxyribonucleic acid (ctDNA) Open a glossary item to assist diagnose cancer and monitor handling.

The circulating blood sweeps the cancer cells forth until they become stuck somewhere. Ofttimes they become stuck in a very pocket-size blood vessel such as a capillary.

Then the cancer prison cell must move through the wall of the capillary and into the tissue of the organ close by. The prison cell tin multiply to grade a new tumour if:

  • the conditions are correct for it to grow
  • information technology has the nutrients that it needs.

This is quite a complicated process and most cancer cells don't survive it. Of the many thousands of cancer cells that achieve the bloodstream, only a few survive to form a secondary cancer.

The white blood cells Open a glossary item in our immune system find and impale some cancer cells. Others cancer cells might dice because they get battered around by the fast flowing blood.

Cancer cells in the circulation may try to stick to platelets Open a glossary item to form clumps to give themselves some protection. Platelets are blood cells that assistance the blood to clot. This could also help the cancer cells to motility into the surrounding tissues.

Spread through the lymphatic organization

The lymphatic system is a network of tubes and glands in the torso that filters body fluid and fights infection. It also traps damaged or harmful cells such equally cancer cells.

Cancer cells can go into the small-scale lymph vessels close to the primary tumour and travel into nearby lymph glands Open a glossary item . In the lymph glands, the cancer cells might die. But some may survive and grow to grade tumours in one or more lymph nodes. This is called lymph node spread.

This 2 infinitesimal video is about the lymphatic arrangement.

Read a transcript of the video.

Micrometastases

Micrometastases are areas of cancer spread (metastases) that are too pocket-sized to see. They are also modest to show upwards on any type of scan.

For a few types of cancer, claret tests can discover certain proteins that the cancer cells release. These are sometimes called tumour markers. These may prove that there are metastases in the body that are too small to show upward on a scan. But for nearly cancers, there is no blood test that can say whether a cancer has spread or not.

For most cancers, doctors tin can only say whether it is likely or not that a cancer has spread. Doctors base this on a number of factors:

  • previous experience – doctors collect and publish this information to assistance each other
  • whether there are cancer cells in the blood vessels in the tumour removed during surgery – if cancer cells are found then the cancer is more likely to take spread to other parts of the body
  • the grade Open a glossary item of the cancer (how abnormal the cells are) – the higher the grade, the more quickly the cancer grows and the more likely for cells to spread
  • whether lymph nodes removed during an functioning contained cancer cells – if the lymph nodes contained cancer cells this shows that cancer cells have cleaved away from the original cancer (merely there is no way of knowing whether the cells have spread to any other areas of the body)

This data is important in treating cancer. You might have extra treatment if doctors suspect at that place are micrometastases. This treatment might include:

The extra treatments might increase the take a chance of curing the cancer.

Related data

You can read detailed information about:

Cancer, the blood and circulation.

The lymphatic arrangement and cancer

Cancer grading

Where can cancer spread

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Source: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/what-is-cancer/how-cancer-can-spread

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