Oxidative stress in metastatic progression

Metastasis, the dissemination of tumor cells from the primary site to distant organs, remains the leading cause of cancer-related mortality. This complex, multistep process demands not only cellular motility but also adaptation to diverse and often hostile microenvironments. Among key stressors, oxidative stress driven by elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) emerges as both a threat to survival and a modulator of metastatic traits. Tumor cells face oxidative pressure throughout the metastatic cascade, requiring mechanisms to mitigate ROS-induced damage while harnessing redox signaling to support progression. This review outlines how cancer cells respond to oxidative stress during metastatic spread, delineates stepwise roles of ROS across the cascade, and explores therapeutic strategies to disrupt redox dynamics in metastatic disease.