Is a temporal measure from a defined start point e.g. diagnosis, or treatment of the period to appearance of a distant metastasis. A distant metastasis refers to cancer that has spread from the original (primary) tumor to distant organs or distant lymph nodes. Also known as distant cancer. The trait is distant metastasis free survival (EFO_0000412). Also known as: event distant metastases, time to development of distant metastases.