Contents
What are the 3 types of bladder cancer?
The 3 main types of bladder cancer are:Urothelial carcinoma. Urothelial carcinoma (or UCC) accounts for about 90% of all bladder cancers. … Squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cells develop in the bladder lining in response to irritation and inflammation. … Adenocarcinoma.
What type of tumor is bladder cancer?
The most common type of bladder cancer is transitional cell (urothelial) carcinoma (TCC). This type accounts for about 95 percent of bladder cancers. Cancer cells of this type look like the urothelial cells lining the inside of the bladder.
Is bladder cancer a primary or secondary cancer?
Abstract. Primary bladder cancer is the fifth most common malignancy but secondary malignancies of the bladder are rare.
Is bladder cancer a secondary cancer?
Bladder cancer can also spread to another part of the body. This is secondary cancer or metastasis. The places it’s most likely to spread to are your: lymph nodes in the pelvis and tummy (abdomen)
What kind of bladder cancer is aggressive?
In general, bladder cancers that are muscle invasive and/or have high-grade cells are the most serious and aggressive. The less common types of bladder cancer such as squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and small cell carcinoma have a greater tendency to be muscle invasive compared to urothelial carcinoma.
Is bladder cancer benign or malignant?
Tumors can be either benign (not malignant or cancerous) or cancerous (malignant, out-of-control cell growth). Bladder cancer or bladder tumors are relatively common in the United States, and most bladder tumors are cancerous.
Where is the first place bladder cancer spreads?
When bladder cancer spreads, it first invades the bladder wall, which is made up of four distinct layers. It can take some time for cancer to penetrate all of these layers, but once it has, it can then spread into the surrounding fatty tissues and lymph nodes.
Is bladder cancer an aggressive cancer?
It has not grown in toward the hollow part of the bladder, and it has not spread to the thick layer of muscle or connective tissue of the bladder (Tis, N0, M0). This is always a high-grade cancer (see “Grades,” below) and is considered an aggressive disease because it can lead to muscle-invasive disease.
How do you know if bladder cancer has metastasized?
Ultrasound: This test uses sound waves to make pictures of the organs inside your body, like your bladder and kidneys. It can help show the size of a bladder cancer and if it has spread. Bone scan: A bone scan can help show if bladder cancer has spread to the bones. This test is not done unless you have bone pain.
How quickly does bladder cancer metastasize?
As many as 50% of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer may have occult metastases that become clinically apparent within 5 years of initial diagnosis and around 5% will have distant metastasis at the time of initial diagnosis. Most patients with overt metastatic disease die within 2 years despite chemotherapy.
Can cancer come back after bladder removal?
Around 1 in 4 people are diagnosed at this stage. However, after removing the bladder, the cure rate is far from perfect. “We know that even when patients undergo surgical removal of the bladder for muscle-invasive bladder cancer, the risk of metastatic recurrence is about 50%,” said Dr.
Is bladder cancer a terminal illness?
The general 5-year survival rate for people with bladder cancer is 77%. However, survival rates depend on many factors, including the type and stage of bladder cancer that is diagnosed. The 5-year survival rate of people with bladder cancer that has not spread beyond the inner layer of the bladder wall is 96%.
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What is the name of the cell that starts bladder cancer?
Small cell carcinoma. Less than 1% of bladder cancers are small-cell carcinomas. They start in nerve-like cells called neuroendocrine cells. These cancers often grow quickly and usually need to be treated with chemotherapy like that used for small cell carcinoma of the lung.
What percentage of bladder cancers are adenocarcinoma?
Adenocarcinoma. Only about 1% of bladder cancers are adenocarcinomas. These cancer cells have a lot in common with gland-forming cells of colon cancers . Nearly all adenocarcinomas of the bladder are invasive.
What is flat carcinoma?
If a flat tumor is only in the inner layer of bladder cells, it’s known as a non-invasive flat carcinoma or a flat carcinoma in situ (CIS). If either a papillary or flat tumor grows into deeper layers of the bladder, it’s called an invasive urothelial (or transitional cell) carcinoma. Written by. References.
How does bladder cancer start?
Bladder cancer starts when cells that make up the urinary bladder start to grow out of control. As more cancer cells develop, they can form a tumor and, with time, spread to other parts of the body. (To learn more about how cancers start and spread, see What Is Cancer?)
What is the bladder wall made of?
The wall of the bladder has many several layers. Each layer is made up of different kinds of cells (see Bladder Cancer Stages for details on the different layers). Most bladder cancers start in the innermost lining of the bladder, which is called the urothelium or transitional epithelium. As the cancer grows into or through the other layers in …
What organ holds urine?
The bladder is a hollow organ in the lower pelvis. It has flexible, muscular walls that can stretch to hold urine and squeeze to send it out of the body. The bladder ‘s main job is to store urine. Urine is liquid waste made by the 2 kidneys and then carried to the bladder through 2 tubes called ureters.
Can bladder cancer be a cancer?
In fact, if you have bladder cancer it’s almost certain to be a urothelial carcinoma. These cancers start in the urothelial cells that line the inside of the bladder. Urothelial cells also line other parts of the urinary tract, such as the part of the kidney that connects to the ureter (called the renal pelvis), the ureters, and the urethra.
What is the most common type of bladder cancer?
The most common type of bladder cancer is transitional cell (urothelial) carcinoma (TCC). This type accounts for about 95 percent of bladder cancers.
What type of cancer grows out of the bladder?
Cancer cells of this type look like the urothelial cells lining the inside of the bladder. There are two subtypes of TCC: Papillary carcinoma: Grows out from the inner surface of the bladder toward the hollow center in finger-like projections.
What is a low grade papillary tumor?
When papillary TCC is very low grade, it may be called papillary neoplasm of low-malignant potential, and treatments typically have positive outcomes.
What percentage of bladder cancer is caused by adenocarcinoma?
Adenocarcinoma of the bladder closely resembles the gland-forming cells seen in colon cancers, and accounts for about 1 percent of bladder cancers in the United States.
How rare is small cell carcinoma?
Small-cell carcinoma is extremely rare, accounting for fewer than 1 percent of all bladder cancers diagnosed in the United States. This type of bladder cancer begins in neuroendocrine cells, which are similar to nerves.
Where is bladder cancer found?
Noninvasive bladder cancer: The cancer cells are found only in the innermost layer of the cells of the bladder, called the transitional epithelium. The cancer hasn’t yet grown any deeper than this first layer.
Is bladder cancer metastatic?
Metastatic bladder cancer: Advanced bladder cancer has spread, or metastasized, to distant sites in the body. This makes the cancer harder to treat, and the treatment plan may be focused on reducing the effects of the tumor, shrinking its size or reducing treatment side effects.
What type of cancer spreads outside the urinary system?
Types of Urothelial Cancer. In order to spread outside of the urinary system, urothelial (bladder and upper tract) carcinoma must invade into the lamina propria and beyond.
What are the morphological patterns of urothelial carcinoma?
Those include nested variant, micropapillary, lymphoepithelioma-like, sarcomatoid, small cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma. These are frequently under-recognized in bladder biopsies and could have therapeutic implications with different criteria for surgery and different chemotherapy regimens.
What is non-invasive papillary urothelial carcinoma?
Non-invasive papillary urothelial carcinoma: These are tumors that form papillary structures that are lined by abnormal urothelial cells with varying degrees of cellular atypia. Those tumors with mild atypia are called “low-grade”, while those tumors with more pronounced atypia are called “high-grade.” Both low- and high-grade tumors can be multifocal and frequently recur after resection.
Is a mesenchymal tumor benign?
Mesenchymal tumors arise from the connective tissue cells of the bladder. These tumors are much less common than urothelial tumors and can be benign or malignant. Malignant mesenchymal tumors are termed sarcomas. Sarcomas can become large and have the capacity to invade adjacent organs and give rise to distant metastases. The most common sarcoma of infancy is rhabdomyosarcoma and of adults is leiomyosarcomas.
Is urothelial carcinoma in situ?
Urothelial carcinoma in-situ (CIS): In contrast to papillary carcinomas, CIS is a flat high-grade cancer that is difficult to visualize in cystoscopy. CIS is always high-grade as it has a has a 50% to 75% risk of becoming invasive, if left untreated.
How many types of bladder cancer are there?
Three types of bladder cancer may form, and each type of tumor can be present in one or more areas of the bladder, and more than one type can be present at the same time: Papillary tumors stick out from the bladder lining on a stalk. They tend to grow into the bladder cavity, away from the bladder wall, instead of deeper into the layers …
Where do bladder cancers occur?
While the majority of bladder cancers (approximately 90-95%) arise in the bladder, the urothelial cells that line the bladder are found in other locations in the urinary system. Sometimes these urothelial cancers can occur in the lining of the kidney or in the ureter that connects the kidney to the bladder.
Where is urothelial cancer located?
This is known as upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) correspond to a subset of urothelial cancers that arise in the urothelial cells in the lining of the kidney (called the renal pelvis) or the ureter ( the long, thin tube that connects that kidney to the bladder). Learn more about UTUC here.
What are the different grades of bladder cancer?
What are the different “grades” for a bladder cancer tumor? Grade is expressed as a number between 1 (low) and 3 (high, i.e. G3); the higher the number the less the tumor resembles a normal cell. In lieu of numbers to grade a bladder cancer tumor, your doctor may refer to the tumor simply as low or high grade.
What doctor examines cancer tissue?
Urologists typically send a sample of the cancer tissue to a pathologist, a doctor who specializes in examining tissue to determine the stage and grade of the cancer. The pathologist writes a report with a diagnosis, and then sends it to your urologist.
What is a sessile tumor?
Sessile tumors lie flat against the bladder lining. Sessile tumors are much more likely than papillary tumors to grow deeper into the layers of the bladder wall.
What type of cancer is a bladder cancer?
Types of bladder cancer include: Urothelial carcinoma. Urothelial carcinoma , previously called transitional cell carcinoma, occurs in the cells that line the inside of the bladder. Urothelial cells expand when your bladder is full and contract when your bladder is empty.
What is the most common type of bladder cancer?
Urothelial carcinoma is the most common type of bladder cancer in the United States. Squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma is associated with chronic irritation of the bladder — for instance, from an infection or from long-term use of a urinary catheter. Squamous cell bladder cancer is rare in the United States.
What is the male urinary system?
Male urinary system. Your urinary system — which includes your kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra — removes waste from your body through urine. Your kidneys, located in the rear portion of your upper abdomen, produce urine by filtering waste and fluid from your blood. Bladder cancer is a common type …
Why are men more likely to get bladder cancer than women?
Men are more likely to develop bladder cancer than women are. Exposure to certain chemicals. Your kidneys play a key role in filtering harmful chemicals from your bloodstream and moving them into your bladder. Because of this, it’s thought that being around certain chemicals may increase the risk of bladder cancer.
How do you know if you have bladder cancer?
Bladder cancer signs and symptoms may include: Blood in urine (hematuria), which may cause urine to appear bright red or cola colored, though sometimes the urine appears normal and blood is detected on a lab test. Frequent urination. Painful urination. Back pain.
How does bladder cancer develop?
Bladder cancer develops when cells in the bladder begin to grow abnormally, forming a tumor in the bladder. Bladder cancer begins when cells in the bladder develop changes (mutations) in their DNA. A cell’s DNA contains instructions that tell the cell what to do.
Where does bladder cancer start?
Bladder cancer is a common type of cancer that begins in the cells of the bladder. The bladder is a hollow muscular organ in your lower abdomen that stores urine. Bladder cancer most often begins in the cells (urothelial cells) that line the inside of your bladder. Urothelial cells are also found in your kidneys and the tubes (ureters) …
What Is Bladder Cancer?
Your bladder is a bag-like organ that stores urine in your lower abdomen (stomach). Bladder cancer happens when abnormal bladder cells start growing out of control.
Bladder Cancer Symptoms
Bladder cancer symptoms can be like symptoms of other noncancerous conditions. That’s why it’s important to see a bladder cancer expert for bladder cancer diagnosis. Talk to your doctor if you experience any of these symptoms:
Bladder Cancer Care: The Penn Medicine Advantage
At the Abramson Cancer Center, you receive care from a team of nationally recognized bladder cancer experts. This care includes:
Types of Bladder Cancer
Doctors label bladder cancers by the bladder cells they begin in. Types of bladder cancer include:
Our Approach to Individualized Care and Treatment
Everyone’s experience with cancer is uniquely personal to them. We believe your care should be too.
What are the symptoms of bladder cancer?
Being unable to urinate. Lower back pain on one side. Loss of appetite and weight loss. Feeling tired or weak. Swelling in the feet. Bone pain. Again, many of these symptoms are more likely to be caused by something other than bladder cancer, but it’s important to have them checked.
Why is bladder cancer so early?
Bladder cancer can often be found early because it causes blood in the urine or other urinary symptoms that cause a person to see a health care provider.
How long does urine stay clear after bladder cancer?
Blood may be present one day and absent the next, with the urine remaining clear for weeks or even months. But if a person has bladder cancer, at some point the blood reappears.
Can bladder cancer cause a change in urination?
Bladder cancer can sometimes cause changes in urination, such as: Having to urinate more often than usual. Pain or burning during urination. Feeling as if you need to go right away, even when your bladder isn’t full. Having trouble urinating or having a weak urine stream.
Overview
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Basic descriptions of the most common types of treatments used for bladder cancer are listed below. Take time to learn about all of your treatment options and be sure to ask questions about things that are unclear. Also, talk about the goals of each treatment with your doctor and what you can expect while receiving the treatment. These types of talks are called “shared decision makin…
Tumour
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Tumour describes the size of the tumour.Doctors find the T stage by taking tissue samples (biopsies) to look at the grade of the cancer cells. The grade tells you how much the cancer cells look like normal cells. They also look at your bladder using a cystoscopy and a CT or MRI scan.There are several T stages:CIS or Tis means very early, high grade cancer cells are only in t…
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The prognosis is different for each type of bladder cancer. Papillary urothelial carcinomas of the bladder have the best prognosis. Squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma and small cell carcinoma of the bladder tend to have a poor prognosis. They are usually invasive and diagnosed at a later stage.
Treatment
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Surgery for Bladder Cancer Bladder cancer is the most common reason for patients to undergo bladder surgery. Depending on the stage and progression of a patient’s bladder cancer, surgery can be used in combination with other therapies such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. To treat bladder cancer, many different types of procedures can be done: Additionally in severe cas…
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Early stage cancers are most commonly treated by transurethral surgery. An instrument (resectoscope) with a small wire loop is inserted through the urethra and into the bladder. The loop removes a tumor by cutting or burning it with electrical current, allowing it to be extracted from the bladder. Internal radiation consists of inserting a small pellet of radioactive material ins…
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Recovery from bladder cancer is not always possible. If the cancer cannot be cured or controlled, the disease may be called advanced or terminal.This diagnosis is stressful, and for many people, advanced cancer is difficult to discuss. However, it is important to have open and honest conversations with your health care team to express your feelings, preferences, and concerns. T…
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Treatment options for bladder cancer depend on a number of factors, including the type of cancer, grade of the cancer and stage of the cancer, which are taken into consideration along with your overall health and your treatment preferences.Bladder cancer treatment may include: 1. Surgery, to remove cancerous tissue 2. Chemotherapy in the bladder (intravesical chemotherapy), to trea…
Signs And Symptoms
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Bladder cancer signs and symptoms may include: 1. Blood in urine (hematuria) 2. Painful urination 3. Pelvic painIf you have hematuria, your urine may appear bright red or cola colored. Sometimes, urine may not look any different, but blood in urine may be detected during a microscopic exam of the urine.People with bladder cancer might also experience: 1. Back pain 2. Frequent urinationB…
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One sign of bladder cancer is blood in the urine, also known as hematuria. Blood in the urine does not always mean bladder cancer. Hematuria is most often caused by other conditions like trauma, infection, blood disorders, kidney problems, exercise, or certain medications. Blood in the urine may be seen by the naked eye (gross hematuria) or only detected on urine testing (microscopic …
Causes
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Bladder cancer develops when cells in the bladder begin to grow abnormally. Rather than grow and divide in an orderly way, these cells develop mutations that cause them to grow out of control and not die. These abnormal cells form a tumor.Causes of bladder cancer include: 1. Smoking and other tobacco use 2. Exposure to chemicals, especially working in a job that requires expos…
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Other factors that increase the risk of getting bladder cancer include a family history of the condition and previous cancer treatment. Birth defects involving the bladder increase the risk of bladder cancer. When people are born with a visible or invisible defect that connects their bladder with another organ in the abdomen, this leaves the bladder prone to frequent infection. This incr…
Risk Factors
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Factors that may increase bladder cancer risk include: 1. Smoking. Smoking cigarettes, cigars or pipes may increase the risk of bladder cancer by causing harmful chemicals to accumulate in the urine. When you smoke, your body processes the chemicals in the smoke and excretes some of them in your urine. These harmful chemicals may damage the lining of your bladder, which can i…
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Other factors that can increase your risk of bladder cancer include: 1. radiotherapy to treat previous cancers near the bladder, such as bowel cancer 2. previous treatment with certain chemotherapy medications, such as cyclophosphamide and cisplatin 3. having diabetes – bladder cancer is thought to be linked to certain treatments for type 2 diabetes 4. having a tube in your b…
Prognosis
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As with most cancers, survival rates are dependent upon the stage or extent of spread of the cancer when it is found. About 50% of bladder cancers are detected when the tumor is limited to the inner lining of the bladder, and 5-year survival rates for this early stage of cancer are nearly 100%. Cancers that have spread further typically have lower survival rates. Today the relative sur…
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1. The recurrence rate for superficial transitional cell cancer of the bladder is high (70% within five years). As many as 80% of patients have at least one recurrence. 2. Patients with tumour recurrences within two years have an aggressive tumour and an increased risk of disease progression (especially with recurrences within 3-6 months). 3. The most significant prognostic …
Diagnosis
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There is no single lab test that can specifically screen for and diagnose bladder cancer, even though urine tests may suggest that cancer is present. If a cancer is present, several tests may be abnormal, including urine cytology and tests for tumor marker proteins. A type of endoscopy, cystoscopy, is a procedure that allows visualization of the inside of the bladder through a thin, li…
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Tests and procedures used to diagnose bladder cancer may include: 1. Cystoscopy. To perform cystoscopy, your doctor inserts a small, narrow tube (cystoscope) through the urethra. The cystoscope has a lens that allows your doctor to see the inside of your urethra and bladder, to examine these structures for signs of disease. 2. Biopsy. During cystoscopy, your doctor may pa…
Prevention
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Although there’s no guaranteed way to prevent bladder cancer, you can take steps to help reduce your risk. For instance: 1. Don’t smoke. Not smoking means that cancer-causing chemicals in smoke can’t collect in your bladder. If you don’t smoke, don’t start. If you smoke, talk to your doctor about a plan to help you stop. Support groups, medications and other methods may help …
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There is no known way to prevent bladder cancer, but it is always advisable to follow a healthy lifestyle. Stop smoking and limit alcohol consumption to 1 to 2 drinks a day. A healthy diet contains lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and correct portion sizes of lean meats. Regular exercise and having checkups can also help you support your health and provide peace of mind…
Epidemiology
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Bladder cancer can affect anyone, but certain groups are at greater risk. Men are three times more likely than women to get bladder cancer. Around 90% of cases occur in people over age 55, and whites are twice as likely as African Americans to develop the condition.
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1. Bladder cancer is the seventh most common cancer in the UK. It is the most frequently occurring tumour of the urinary system and accounts for around 1 in every 30 new cases of cancer each year in the UK. Bladder cancer is the 4th most common cancer in men and the 11th most common in women. 2. The overall incidence in the UK is 11.4 per 100,000 population. 3. Bl…