Eli5- Why does cancer predominantly affect organs rather than muscle?

Question

Why do you never hear of someone with calf cancer or bicep cancer but rather cancer affecting the organs or blood?

In: 287

Answer 1

There is “muscle cancer”, namely Leiomyosarcoma (smooth muscle) and Rhabdomyosarcoma (striated muscle), but it is very rare because muscle cells don’t really replicate. Cancer is uncontrolled replication of cells and in adults, muscle cells have lost the ability to replicate for the most part.