This test is able to look for hundreds of cancer-causing mutations in a single tumor sample. Local therapies, such as radiation or surgery, can sometimes be used as well to target one, or a few, areas of cancer.įor many patients with metastatic cancer, MSK-IMPACT® plays a key role in diagnosis as well as in determining the best treatment options. Systemic therapy is particularly beneficial since it can address both visible and microscopic cancer throughout the body. Examples of systemic therapy include chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. Systemic therapy - which may be intravenous or oral treatment - is most commonly used for metastatic cancers. The treatment plan is determined by the type of cancer, where it has spread, and the patient’s other health issues.
There are many treatments for metastatic cancer. Metastatic cancer is diagnosed with imaging (CT scans, MRIs, and/or PET scans) to determine the extent of disease and with a biopsy of a tumor so that a pathologist can identify the specific type of cancer. How is metastatic cancer diagnosed and treated at MSK? Similarly, colon cancer that has spread to the liver is still colon cancer, not liver cancer, and is treated with colon cancer therapies.īack to top 4. Prostate cancer that has metastasized to the bones is still treated like prostate cancer, where we use treatments that may include hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. For example, prostate cancer that has spread to the bones is not the same as cancer that started in the bones, known as primary bone cancer (of which there are several types, including osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma). Metastatic cancers are considered stage 4.Įven after cancer has invaded another organ, it is still identified by the place where it developed. Metastatic cancer occurs when cancer cells spread from the organ where they started to a distant part of the body. Feld, who sees patients at MSK Commack on Long Island, specializes in treating patients with genitourinary cancers, including tumors of the prostate, bladder, kidneys, and testicles.
In this Q&A, medical oncologist Emily Feld talks about how metastatic cancer is diagnosed and treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). But once cancer spreads, or metastasizes, to other parts of the body, it becomes much harder to stop. Many tumors can be eliminated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and other treatments.
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