Spread and cancer staging Flashcards
1
Q
What are the main routes of metastasis?
A
- lymphatic
- haematogenous
- trans coelomic
Lymph vessels - Blood vessels - Tissue spaces - Cerebrospinal spaces -Coelomic cavities - Epithelial cavities
2
Q
What is cancer staging?
A
Measure of how advanced the tumour has become in primary growth and secondary spread
Guides post-operative treatment
3
Q
How is cancer staged?
A
- Size of tumour
- Degree of lymph node involvement
- Extent of distant metastasis (TNM)
4
Q
Why is knowledge of the expected distribution of metastases important for treatment?
A
- anatomical considerations play a role and the venous and lymphatic drainage of an organ must be considered when predicting metastatic spread.
- Marked organ and tissue predilection can be observed for metastasis in specific cancers and the degree to which an organ is involved in metastasis does not always match its blood supply.
