Metastatic colorectal cancer is colorectal carcinoma that has disseminated beyond the bowel wall and regional nodes to form secondary deposits in distant organs, most commonly the liver, lung, and peritoneum. Metastasis proceeds through a stepwise cascade: loss of epithelial cell-cell adhesion, local invasion, intra…
Metastatic colorectal cancer is colorectal carcinoma that has disseminated beyond the bowel wall and regional nodes to form secondary deposits in distant organs, most commonly the liver, lung, and peritoneum. Metastasis proceeds through a stepwise cascade: loss of epithelial cell-cell adhesion, local invasion, intravasation into blood and lymphatic vessels, survival in the circulation, and colonization of distant tissue. Molecular events that govern this cascade are central to the field, including downregulation of E-cadherin during epithelial-mesenchymal transition, the activity of adhesion molecules such as VCAM-1 in tumour and stromal tissue, and apoptosis-regulating proteins like Par-4 that can restrain metastatic spread when restored. Classification rests on staging, histopathology, and the serrated and conventional adenoma-carcinoma pathways of carcinogenesis. The disease matters because distant spread is the principal determinant of mortality, shifting management from curative resection toward systemic chemotherapy, targeted agents, and multidisciplinary care. Allied research questions span screening and early detection with faecal immunochemical testing, perioperative risk stratification, chemoprevention with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and molecular diagnostics such as microRNA quantification by digital PCR. The journal publishes peer-reviewed studies on colorectal tumour biology, screening, surgical management, and the cellular and gene-expression mechanisms underlying invasion and metastasis.
12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
The 12 articles above have been cited 64 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Metastatic Colorectal Cancer, linking to each citing work.