Metastatic Cancer: How Cancer Spreads

While metastasis can develop anywhere in the body, the American Cancer Society notes that the most common places for it to occur are the brain, bones, liver and lungs. Also, certain cancers have a tendency to metastasize in certain places. For example, the National Cancer Institute says melanoma commonly metastasizes to bone, the brain, and the liver. On the other hand, prostate cancer mainly spreads to the adrenal gland, bones, liver and lungs.