The same cells as the original cancer. Metastases are therefore not another cancer, but cells from the original cancer that have spread. “For example, a breast cancer metastasis installed on a lung is a tumor made up of breast cells; it is not lung cancer”, specifies the National Institute of Cancer (INCa). When a cancer has produced metastases, it is called metastatic cancer.
What treatments? “Metastatic cancer is usually more difficult to treat than cancer that has not spread,” says the Canadian Cancer Society. “In most cases, the goal of treatment is to help a person live as long as possible and maintain their quality of life. Treatments control and slow the growth of metastases, but they usually do not disappear completely. However, there are promising therapeutic approaches such as immunotherapy. This is “already used successfully against ENT, kidney and lung cancers and melanomas, it is also accessible to patients with so-called triple-negative metastatic breast cancer, under a temporary authorization for use. “says Dr. Lionel Uwer.
But whatever happens, in the event of metastases, “we enter into a logic of chronic disease”, he adds. The patient should be followed for life because of the high risk of relapse.
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