I have a question about metastisis. My sister had tonsillar cancer in right tonsil a year ago and after neck dissection pathology report said it was in one lymph node also. Is this considered a metastisis? I thought it was, but the an article in our newspaper about cancer says it is when the cancer travels from primary source toa DISTANT area of body. The example they gave was ovarian cancer traveling to brain. Would my sister's-tonsil to lymph node in neck be a metastisis?

Anything that is not the location of the primary tumor is a metastasis of those cancer cells. The primary is often referred to as the "index tumor". It is possible to have a "second primary" coinciding with the index tumor, but in oral cancers that is unlikely. Secondary primaries, sometimes refer to the recurrence tumor at a date later than the original index tumor. The difference between local mets vs. distant mets is only an issue of time. A person with distant mets has a cancer which has progressed farther, and likely been in place longer. In breast cancer for instance, node involvement in the armpit is the most likely met from the primary cancer. It is the closest area to the breast where mets are characteristically found. In oral cancers the closest mets are usually to the neck or cervical nodes. In both cancers, STATISTICALLY, node involvement is correlated with poorer outcomes.

Hi Molly,

I can only speak for how it was phrased to me. And the answer to your question would be yes...I have tonsil cancer with neck metastisis...that also now is liver mets.

The lymph nodes in the neck would be considered mets and the primary is the tonsil.

Take care of that sis,
Dinah