Interactions of cancer cells with the microvasculature: An introduction

Abstract

A metastasis is a cancer which is not in contiguity with the primary tumor from which it arose. The major clinical problem in many people with so-called “solid” cancers lies not in dealing with their primary lesion, but rather in dealing with the metastases generated from these lesions. This is dramatically shown by comparing the 5-year survival rates of patients with and without overt metastases at the time of diagnosis (Axtell, L.M., Asire, A.J. and Myers, M.H. (Eds.). Cancer Patient Survival Rep. No. 5, DHEW Publ. No. (NIH) 77–992. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Gov. Print Office, 1976).