# Hallmark: activating invasion and metastasis

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/activating-invasion-metastasis/  
OnCo record `activating-invasion-metastasis` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Cancer cells detach, invade, travel, and colonise other organs, the process responsible for most cancer deaths.

## Summary

Activating invasion and metastasis is the hallmark by which cancer cells detach, invade, travel and colonise other organs, the process responsible for most cancer deaths. Its components are EMT programmes, matrix degradation, intravasation, dormancy and colonisation, laid out in The metastatic cascade, Epithelial-mesenchymal transition, Tumour dormancy and TGF-β signalling pathways and in the Disseminated tumour cells (DTCs) entry. No approved drug targets metastasis directly; the clinical tools are adjuvant therapy, MRD / molecular residual disease testing and metastasis-directed SBRT / SABR for Oligometastatic disease. Readers reach this hallmark from the Hallmarks of Cancer overview, the Metastasis and Invasive entries, and the invasion and intravasation pathway pages.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Tags: hallmark

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hallmarks_of_Cancer
- Hanahan, Hallmarks of Cancer: New Dimensions (Cancer Discovery 2022): https://doi.org/10.1158/2159-8290.CD-21-1059

## Connected records

- technologies: [MRD / molecular residual disease testing](https://onco.cc/technologies/mrd-testing/), [SBRT / SABR (stereotactic radiotherapy)](https://onco.cc/technologies/sbrt/)
- pathways: [Epithelial-mesenchymal transition & drug efflux](https://onco.cc/pathways/emt/), [Intravasation & circulating tumour cells](https://onco.cc/pathways/intravasation-ctc-survival/), [Invasion: proteases, adhesion & the invasive front](https://onco.cc/pathways/invasion-ecm-degradation/), [TGF-β signalling](https://onco.cc/pathways/tgf-beta/), [The metastatic cascade](https://onco.cc/pathways/metastatic-cascade/), [Tumour dormancy](https://onco.cc/pathways/tumor-dormancy/)
- terms: [Disseminated tumour cells (DTCs)](https://onco.cc/terms/disseminated-tumor-cells/), [Hallmarks of Cancer](https://onco.cc/terms/hallmarks-of-cancer/), [Hallmarks of cancer as a synthesis of the theories](https://onco.cc/terms/hallmarks-synthesis/), [Invasive](https://onco.cc/terms/invasive-cancer/), [Metastasis](https://onco.cc/terms/metastasis/), [Oligometastatic disease](https://onco.cc/terms/oligometastatic/)
- journals: [Cancer metastasis reviews](https://onco.cc/journals/cancer-metastasis-reviews/), [Clinical & experimental metastasis](https://onco.cc/journals/clinical-and-experimental-metastasis/)
- key papers: [Kalluri and Weinberg 2009: the basics of epithelial-mesenchymal transition](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-kalluri-weinberg-emt-basics-jci-2009/), [Lamouille 2014: molecular mechanisms of epithelial-mesenchymal transition](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-lamouille-emt-molecular-mechanisms-nrmcb-2014/), [The Hallmarks of Cancer: six capabilities every tumour must acquire](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-hallmarks-of-cancer-cell-2000/), [Thiery 2002: epithelial-mesenchymal transitions in tumour progression](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-thiery-emt-tumour-progression-nrc-2002/)

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