Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the inefficiency of different steps of metastasis
against both numerical and temporal backgrounds. The chapter also deals with the
consequences of metastatic inefficiency on the patterns of metastasis development and
therapy. The vast majority of the cancer cells entering the metastatic process do not form
metastases. However, it is the behavior of the surviving, active minority of cancer cells that
ultimately determines the metastasis-related fate of the patient. The relative metastatic …