Facts about bladder cancer
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Facts about bladder cancer
Key statistics
§ About 74,690 new cases of bladder cancer
o Men - about 56,390
o Women – about 18,300
§ About 15,580 deaths from bladder cancer
o Men - about 11,170
o Women – about 4,410
§ 4th most common cancer in men.
§ Men are 3 to 4 times more likely than women
§ Bladder cancer survivors in US - more than 500,000 people.
§ Race:
o Whites are diagnosed almost twice as often as blacks.
o African Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease, compared to whites
§ Occurs mainly in older people.
o About 9 out of 10 people are over the age of 55.
o Average age at the time of diagnosis is 73.
§ Chance of developing bladder cancer:
o Men - 1 in 26
o Women – 1 in 90
§ Stage at diagnosis:
o About 50 % of cases are diagnosed while cancer is still confined to inner layer of bladder
o About 35% of cases have cancer that has invaded into deeper layers but is still contained in the bladder.
o In most of the remaining cases, the cancer has spread to nearby tissues outside the bladder.
o Rarely spreads to distant sites (4%).
§ Survival rates (Stage vs Relative 5-year survival rate):
o Stage 0 – 98%
o Stage I – 88%
o Stage II – 63%
o Stage III – 46%
o Stage IV – 15%
§ Rates of new cancers and of cancer deaths have been fairly stable in men and have been dropping slightly in women in recent years.
Signs and symptoms
§ Blood in the urine (hematuria)
o In most cases, this is the first warning sign
o Urine may be orange, pink, sometimes dark red, or regular yellow
o May be present one day and absent the next or clear for weeks or months
o If a person has bladder cancer, blood eventually appears
o Does not always mean bladder cancer
§ Changes in urination or irritation
o Urinating more often than usual
o Pain or burning during urination
o Urge to urinate, even when bladder isn’t full
Advanced bladder symptoms include:
§ Unable to urinate
§ Lower back pain on one side
§ Loss of appetite and weight loss
§ Swelling in feet
§ Bone pain
Diagnosis
§ Often found because of signs and symptoms
§ Might be found incidentally
§ If so, exams and test are done to confirm the diagnosis:
o Medical history and physical exam
o Cystoscopy
o Urine lab tests
o Bladder biopsy – shows invasiveness and grade of cancer
o Imaging tests (IV pyelogram, retrograde pyelogram, CT scan, MRI scan, ultrasound, chest x-ray, bone scan)