Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/umls/id/C1266089
NCI: A general term used to describe cancer that begins in cells that have changed into another cell type (for example, a squamous cell of the esophagus changing to resemble a cell of the stomach). In some cases, metaplastic changes alone may mean there is an increased chance of cancer developing at the site.,NCI: A general term used to describe carcinomas arising from epithelial cells that have been transformed into another cells type (metaplastic epithelial cells). A representative example is the adenocarcinoma arising in Barrett esophagus. This term is also used to describe carcinomas in which the malignant epithelial cells show differentiation towards another cell type. A representative example of the latter is the metaplastic breast carcinoma in which the malignant glandular cells show squamous, spindle cell, or chondroid/osseous differentiation.