title: The need for a staging system for metastasis, with emphasis on breast cancer metastasis.
abstract: The median survival of patients with metastatic cancer can vary over a relatively large range. A staging system based on the natural history of metastatic cancer is necessary if one is to evaluate the results of treatment or predict survival.
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis / Q000473:pathology*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods*; D011379:Prognosis