A 58-year-old woman has breast cancer that has metastasized to the liver. On which fact about metastatic cells does the nurse understand that the treatment plan for the patient is based?
a) They become more unlike the cells of the primary site as mutations occur in the tumor cells at both sites.
b) They are identical to the cells in the breast, having passively been spread through blood and lymph vessels.
c) They do not proliferate as rapidly as the malignant cells in the primary site and are therefore less sensitive to treatment.
d) They retain the characteristics of the malignant cells in the breast and have the same response to treatment as the primary tumor does.