Metastatic Cancer, from the CureRays guide library.

Metastatic cancer has spread beyond where it started; when only a few spots exist (oligometastatic), focused radiation can sometimes treat it for cure.

What it is.

Metastatic cancer is cancer that has spread from where it started (the primary tumor) to other parts of the body, such as the bone, liver, lung, or brain. For a long time, metastatic disease was treated only to control symptoms. That's changing. When the spread is limited to just a few spots — called oligometastatic disease (often 1 to 5 lesions) — treating each one with precise, high-dose radiation can extend survival and, in some cases, offer a chance at long-term control. CureRays focuses on this hopeful middle ground between early and widespread disease.

How radiation treats it.

Radiation uses focused, high-energy beams to damage the DNA of cancer cells so they can no longer divide. In metastatic disease it serves two roles. As stereotactic ablative radiation, it concentrates a very high dose on a small target to wipe out an individual metastasis while sparing healthy tissue — useful when only a few spots exist. As palliative radiation, a few gentle sessions quickly relieve pain or pressure caused by a tumor. Both are precise, painless, and increasingly used alongside modern systemic medicines to help people live longer and better.

The ways we can treat it.

Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). Delivers very high, precisely targeted doses to a metastasis in just 1-5 sessions, destroying it while sparing surrounding tissue — the technique behind the SABR-COMET results.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). Concentrates radiation on small brain metastases in a single accurate session, with no incision and rapid recovery.

Conventional palliative radiation. A few short treatments aimed at a painful or troublesome site for fast, durable symptom relief.

Questions we hear often.

Does metastatic cancer mean it can't be cured? Not necessarily anymore. When spread is limited to a few spots (oligometastatic), focused radiation added to systemic therapy can sometimes achieve long-term control — a real shift from treating only symptoms.

Can radiation help with pain? Yes. Palliative radiation is very effective at relieving pain from bone and other metastases, often within days to weeks, using just a few short sessions.

How many radiation sessions are needed? Stereotactic treatments often take just 1-5 sessions; palliative courses may be a single treatment or a handful, depending on the goal and location.

This guide is informational only. It is not medical advice — please confirm anything here with your care team.