{"entity":{"id":"paper-dillekas-cancer-med","kind":"paper","name":"Are 90% of deaths from cancer caused by metastases?","aka":[],"tldr":"Paper cited by one bottleneck page and 16 idea pages, indexed on Europe PMC as PubMed record 31397113 and published in Cancer medicine; the citing pages link this DOI, which is how the record was matched.","summary":"Numerous publications have stated that metastases are responsible for 90% of cancer deaths, but data underlying this assertion has been lacking. Our objective was to determine what proportions of cancer deaths are caused by metastases. Population-based data from the Cancer Registry of Norway for the years 2005-2015 was analyzed. We compared all deaths in the Norwegian population where a cancer diagnosis was registered as cause of death. Deaths caused by cancer, with and without metastases, were analyzed, by sex and tumor group. For solid tumors, 66.7% of cancer deaths were registered with metastases as a contributing cause. Proportions varied substantially between tumor groups. Our data support the idea that the majority of deaths from solid tumors are caused by metastases. Thus, a better understanding of the biology of metastases and identification of druggable targets involved in growth at the metastatic site is a promising strategy to reduce cancer mortality.\n\nIndexed on Europe PMC as PubMed record 31397113 (DOI 10.1002/cam4.2474). Matched by DOI alone: one bottleneck page and 16 idea pages cite this DOI among their external links (the pages are listed under Related), and this page was written so that the citation resolves inside OnCo. No figure has been checked by an editor.","asOf":"2026-09-22","links":[{"label":"Cancer Med 2019","url":"https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.2474"},{"label":"PubMed","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31397113/"},{"label":"Europe PMC","url":"https://europepmc.org/article/MED/31397113"}],"tags":["europepmc-ingest"],"related":["b-metastasis-biology","idea-bio2-premetastatic-niche-assay","idea-bio2-oligometastatic-signature","idea-bio2-organotropism-atlas","idea-bio2-net-blockade-perioperative","idea-bio2-perioperative-betablocker-nsaid","idea-bio2-ctc-clearance-go-nogo","idea-bio2-cxcr4-mobilise-then-kill","idea-bio2-ctc-culture-functional-testing","idea-bio2-inhaled-lung-niche-immunotherapy","idea-bio2-metastasis-screen-standard","idea-moon-metastasis-prevention-indication","idea-bio2-brain-met-prevention-trials","idea-bio2-liver-niche-kupffer-reprogramming","idea-bio2-matrix-stiffness-prevention","idea-bio2-platelet-cloak-aspirin-mrd","idea-bio2-lymph-node-immune-priming"],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":["cancer-medicine"],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"journal":"Cancer medicine","year":2019,"doi":"10.1002/cam4.2474","pmid":"31397113","authors":"Dillekås H, Rogers MS, Straume O","paperType":"observational","findings":[],"whatItMeans":"One bottleneck page and 16 idea pages on OnCo cite this paper by its DOI; this record gives the citation a page of its own so a reader can follow it without leaving OnCo. Read the abstract above alongside the citing pages listed under Related; the record was created automatically from the Europe PMC entry and its figures have not been checked by hand.","caveats":["Matched to the citing OnCo records by DOI alone; the summary reproduces the Europe PMC abstract and no figure has been verified against the full paper."]},"route":"/key-papers/paper-dillekas-cancer-med/","neighbours":{"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-metastasis-biology","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Metastasis is understood least and studied last","route":"/bottlenecks/b-metastasis-biology/"}],"idea":[{"id":"idea-bio2-premetastatic-niche-assay","kind":"idea","name":"A blood test for the pre-metastatic niche","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-premetastatic-niche-assay/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-oligometastatic-signature","kind":"idea","name":"A test to tell true oligometastatic disease from hidden widespread spread","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-oligometastatic-signature/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-organotropism-atlas","kind":"idea","name":"An organotropism atlas that predicts where a cancer will spread","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-organotropism-atlas/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-net-blockade-perioperative","kind":"idea","name":"Break the neutrophil DNA nets that catch tumour cells after surgery","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-net-blockade-perioperative/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-perioperative-betablocker-nsaid","kind":"idea","name":"Cheap perioperative beta-blocker plus anti-inflammatory to blunt surgical stress","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-perioperative-betablocker-nsaid/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-ctc-clearance-go-nogo","kind":"idea","name":"Circulating tumour cell clearance as the phase 2 gate for anti-metastatic drugs","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-ctc-clearance-go-nogo/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-cxcr4-mobilise-then-kill","kind":"idea","name":"Flush dormant cells out of bone marrow, then kill them","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-cxcr4-mobilise-then-kill/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-ctc-culture-functional-testing","kind":"idea","name":"Grow blood-borne tumour cells to test drugs on the cells that actually spread","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-ctc-culture-functional-testing/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-inhaled-lung-niche-immunotherapy","kind":"idea","name":"Inhaled immune therapy to make the lung hostile to arriving tumour cells","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-inhaled-lung-niche-immunotherapy/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-metastasis-screen-standard","kind":"idea","name":"Make in vivo metastasis screens a required step in drug discovery","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-metastasis-screen-standard/"},{"id":"idea-moon-metastasis-prevention-indication","kind":"idea","name":"Metastasis prevention as a formal indication with its own trials and regulatory pathway","route":"/ideas/idea-moon-metastasis-prevention-indication/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-brain-met-prevention-trials","kind":"idea","name":"Prevention trials aimed only at brain metastasis","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-brain-met-prevention-trials/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-liver-niche-kupffer-reprogramming","kind":"idea","name":"Reprogramme the liver's own immune cells to refuse metastases","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-liver-niche-kupffer-reprogramming/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-matrix-stiffness-prevention","kind":"idea","name":"Soften the tissue that new metastases need in order to grow","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-matrix-stiffness-prevention/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-platelet-cloak-aspirin-mrd","kind":"idea","name":"Strip the platelet coat off travelling tumour cells in ctDNA-positive patients","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-platelet-cloak-aspirin-mrd/"},{"id":"idea-bio2-lymph-node-immune-priming","kind":"idea","name":"Treat the draining lymph node before removing it","route":"/ideas/idea-bio2-lymph-node-immune-priming/"}],"journal":[{"id":"cancer-medicine","kind":"journal","name":"Cancer medicine","route":"/journals/cancer-medicine/"}]}}