Final answer:
Metastatic disease in a patient with ovarian cancer is most likely due to metastasis, where cancer cells spread to form new tumors in distant organs as a result of accumulated DNA mutations and uncontrolled cell proliferation.
Step-by-step explanation:
A patient with ovarian cancer who has developed metastatic disease has likely experienced this as a result of the process where cancer cells travel through the bloodstream to form new tumors in distant organs. This phenomenon, known as metastasis, is a hallmark of cancer's ability to spread. Cancer cells that originate in one organ, such as the ovaries, can move to other parts of the body where they can establish new tumors, indicating the presence of metastatic disease.
Metastases occur as a result of an accumulation of DNA mutations within cancer cells, leading to uncontrolled cell proliferation and the potential to spread. Unlike natural cell death, incomplete penetrance transformations, or inhibition of growth factors which do not directly cause metastasis, the multiple mutations in tumor suppressor genes like p53 can contribute significantly to the capacity of cancer cells to metastasize.