If fallopian tube cancer spreads

Cancer cells can spread from the fallopian tube to other parts of the body. This spread is called metastasis.

Understanding how a type of cancer usually grows and spreads helps your healthcare team plan your treatment and future care. If fallopian tube cancer spreads, it can spread to the following:

  • peritoneum (the membrane that lines the walls of the abdomen and pelvis, and covers and supports most of the abdominal organs)
  • ovary
  • uterus
  • lymph nodes
  • liver
  • lungs
  • brain
  • bone
  • kidneys

Metastasis to the fallopian tubes is most often from cancers of the ovary or uterus.

Expert review and references

  • Black D, Barakat RR . Fallopian tube cancer. Raghavan D, Blanke CD, Honson DH, et al (eds.). Textbook of Uncommon Cancer. 4th ed. Wiley Blackwell; 2012: 38: 531 - 539.
  • Cannistra SA, Gershenson DM, Recht A . Ovarian cancer, fallopian tube carcinoma, and peritoneal carcinoma. DeVita VT Jr, Lawrence TS, Rosenberg SA. Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2015: 76: 1075-1099.