There have been numerous success stories against cancer in the history of man. However, it seems that most of these gallant survivors will never be fully free from the grips of this rather mysterious disease. For some, even though cancer that began in other parts of their body has been cured, it creeps back as liver metastasis.

Metastasis refer to the spread of cancer cells from its origin to other places in the body such as brain and liver. Take note that cancer rarely begins in the liver but because of its primary function of metabolizing high-volume biochemical reactions, it usually has a rich supply of blood.

National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR) notes that liver metastasis chiefly comes from primary tumors in the colon, rectum, stomach, pancreas, ovary, breast, and lung. The research foundation's Chief Science Officer Dr. Sujuan Ba even mentioned that 80% of liver cancers originated from tumors located in other sites within the body.

As of now, it is still a mystery among scientists how metastasis occurs but despite that, NFCR Center for Metastasis Research is gaining on finding several "metastasis suppressors" that will solve the mystery of the stealthy spread of cancer. On the other hand, several NFCR scientists are exploring alternative routes to tackling primary colorectal cancer cells more effectively.

The fight against metastasis is still in its infant stage mainly because there are still some areas of the matter that leave experts puzzled. There have been cases where patients show metastases tumours without the primary tumour every being found.