A micrometastasis is a small collection of cancer cells that has been shed from the original tumor and spread to another part of the body through the lymphovascular system.
The typical biopsy procedure involves hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of specific markers that correspond to the particular tumor type.
[2] Doctors must assume that the tumor cells have likely spread to other regions of the body if micrometastases are present in one of the lymph nodes.
[citation needed] Before the micrometastases colonize at a distant site, the tumor cells can be found in the bone marrow or peripheral blood.
These cells have successfully left the primary tumor microenvironment and the SNLs, and are able to survive in a non-native environment, which makes them more aggressive.
[citation needed] In order to eliminate micrometastases that are not near lymph nodes and have traveled to distant regions of the body, chemotherapy and radiation therapies are necessary.
[2] Researchers still question whether this treatment method to rid the body of this small cluster of cells that may or may not progress is worth the side effects that it may cause.