Radiation therapy will not cause esophageal cancer to metastasize

Cancer cells leave the primary tumor and move to other parts through various pathways, which is called metastasis. Metastasis is a major characteristic of malignant tumors, and esophageal cancer is no exception. However, it is not easy for cancer to grow in a new part after metastasis. It is common to find cancer cells in the blood of cancer patients. Sudden changes in venous pressure such as coughing; squeezing and pulling of the tumor during surgery; touching during clinical examinations and tumor cells attached to the scalpel can all cause cancer cells to fall off and metastasize. But in fact, most metastatic cancer cells cannot grow.

Experiments have shown that less than one in ten thousand cancer cells have the ability to metastasize and grow. Most cancer cells will be eliminated by themselves or engulfed by macrophages in normal tissues after metastasis. Only metastatic cancer cells are reproductive cancer cells that will firmly attach to one place (usually in peripheral blood vessels) and have the ability to pass through the blood vessel walls (mostly thin-walled blood vessels such as veins), and then produce and secrete toxic substances such as protein hydrolases to destroy the ability of normal tissues to resist tumor invasion, invade normal tissues, and escape the immune surveillance and attack of normal tissues in order to reproduce and grow. Therefore, organs with abundant peripheral blood vessels and thin blood vessel walls, such as the lungs, liver, bones, and brain, are places where tumors are easy to metastasize and grow; places that have been traumatized, inflammation, hematoma formation, and tissues with reduced local oxygen pressure are also conducive to the invasion of cancer cells.

Radiotherapy does not involve any violent actions such as squeezing or pulling, and will not cause cancer cells to fall off. Even if temporary congestion occurs at the beginning of radiotherapy, it is no greater than the physical stimulation in daily life, and will not have a significant impact on the shedding of cancer cells. More importantly, the growth ability of cells is significantly reduced after being exposed to radiation, and irradiated cancer cells cannot grow even if they metastasize. It has been confirmed that radiotherapy before surgery can reduce tumor spread and implantation during surgery, so radiotherapy will not cause cancer metastasis, but on the contrary can prevent it.