Complementary therapies to help reduce Cancer Metastasis
This page looks at complementary therapies you can add to your treatment to reduce the risk of metastasis. According to the National Cancer Institute, cancer that spreads from where it started to a distant part of the body is called metastatic cancer. For many types of cancer, it is also called stage 4 cancer.
Cancer cells spread through the body in a series of steps. These steps include:
- growing into, or invading, nearby normal tissue
- moving through the walls of nearby lymph nodes or blood vessels
- traveling through the lymphatic system and bloodstream to other parts of the body
- stopping in small blood vessels at a distant location, invading the blood vessel walls, and moving into the surrounding tissue
- growing in this tissue until a tiny tumor forms
- causing new blood vessels to grow, which creates a blood supply that allows the metastatic tumor to continue growing
Most of the time, spreading cancer cells die at some point in this process. But, as long as conditions are favorable for the cancer cells at every step, some of them are able to form new tumors in other parts of the body. Metastatic cancer cells can also remain inactive at a distant site for many years before they begin to grow again, if at all. Most of the time, spreading cancer cells die at some point in this process. But, as long as conditions are favorable for the cancer cells at every step, some of them are able to form new tumors in other parts of the body. Metastatic cancer cells can also remain inactive at a distant site for many years before they begin to grow again, if at all.
How to help make conditions unfavorable for cancer
Exercise regularly
| A Systematic review of multiple studies involving 68,000 patients |
| Superior levels of exercise following a cancer diagnosis were associated with a 28%–44% reduced risk of cancer-specific mortality, 21%–35% lower risk of cancer recurrence, 25%–48% decreased risk of all-cause mortality. |
| A Systematic Review of 42 studies involving 46,694 cancer patients |
| Compared with those with low physical fitness levels, patients with high muscle strength or cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) levels had a significant reduction in risk of all-cause mortality by 31–46%; an 8–46% reduced risk of all-cause mortality in patients with advanced cancers; a 19–41% reduced risk of all-cause mortality in lung and digestive cancers, and a significant 18% reduced risk of cancer-specific mortality. |
Mechanistically, exercise is credible because it affects many metastasis-relevant pathways at once:
- improves insulin and glucose regulation;
- lowers chronic inflammation;
- improves immune surveillance, including natural killer cell activity;
- reduces visceral fat and adipokine imbalance;
- improves vascular function and tissue oxygenation;
- helps preserve muscle, which is strongly linked with treatment tolerance and survival
Quit Smoking immediately
This systematic review and meta-analysis included 36 articles encompassing over 17 000 patients with cancer who were still smoking at diagnosis or had stopped less than 30 days prior. It says the evidence regarding the negative impact of sustained smoking on the survival of patients with cancer is now irrefutable: this derives from the combined effect of multiple concurrent mechanisms, for instance, by inducing DNA mutations and initiating cancer cells, facilitating tumour progression (eg, promoting cancer cell growth, angiogenesis and impairing immune defence), reducing the ability to tolerate aggressive cancer treatments and worsening any underlying comorbidities postdiagnosis smoking cessation is effective in improving the chances of survival for patients with cancer.
Maintain a Healthy Body Weight
This study says various cancers are strongly associated with obesity and obesity increases the risk of dying from cancer. Excess body fat results in an approximately 17% increased risk of cancer-specific mortality. The underlying mechanism of obesity causing cancer involves adipokines, inflammation, an altered extracellular matrix, altered fatty acid metabolism, and the secretion of insulin-like growth factors and estrogen.
Vitamin D Supplementation
This study says it has been shown that vitamin D can help to overcome the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance which often triggers metastasis.
Natural Products
Genistein
This 2025 study review says: In the later stages of treatment and during rehabilitation, natural products play a pivotal role in maintaining therapeutic efficacy, preventing metastasis, and improving overall quality of life. Research indicates that genistein, the primary active component in soy isoflavones, inhibits tumor metastasis through a multitarget mechani
Natural anti-cancer products
This 2025 study review says herbal medicine exhibits a broad spectrum of potent anti-cancer properties, including the enhancement of tumor immune responses, reversal of multidrug resistance, regulation of autophagy and ferroptosis, as well as anti-proliferative, pro-apoptotic, and anti-metastatic effects. The study identified the following as having anti-metastatic properties:
Artemisinin
Berberine
Curcumin
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) – Green Tea
Resveratrol
This study identified the following as having anti-metastatic properties:
Indole-3-carbinol found in broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens.
Rosmarinic acid from rosemary
This 2024 study identified the following as having anti-metastatic properties:
Quercetin found in fresh fruits, vegetables, and citrus fruits
Explore evidence-based Complementary Therapies for cancer
Last updated January 2026