Bladder cancer: symptoms, treatment, prognosis
Bladder cancer is a tumor that develops on the bladder wall. It is more common in men than in women.
What is bladder cancer?
The cancer of the bladder is a tumor that develops on the wall of the bladder. After prostate cancer, it is the most common cancer of the urinary tract . Bladder cancer is three times more common in men than in women and is most common after age 60.
The bladder is a hollow organ located in the small pelvis whose role is to store the urine produced continuously by the kidneys. It is found under the uterus in women and just above the prostate in men. Once full , she sends a message to the brain to trigger the urge to urinate . During urination, the muscles in the bladder wall contract to eject urine through the urethra.
Types of bladder cancer
There are several types of bladder cancer according to their location. The most common malignant tumor (90% of cases) is called "urothelium" and develops in the lining of the lining of the bladder. We talk about urothelial carcinoma . It can touch the superficial or deeper layer of the mucous (infiltrating tumor).
Other forms of bladder cancer (carcinoma of the epidermis, adenocarcinoma) are much rarer. In about 10% of cases tumors develop simultaneously in different parts of the urinary tract.
Symptoms of bladder cancer
The presence of blood in the urine(hematuria) is the most common symptom and the telltale sign of bladder cancer . Bleeding occurs most often at the end of urination and is not necessarily very abundant or very regular. A long duration and a bright color does not necessarily indicate a malignant tumor.
Hematuria can be accompanied by various symptoms:
- frequent urge to urinate
- painful urination (urinary burns)
- spasms in the bladder
- recurrent urinary tract infection
- pain in the lower back
If the tumor spreads to other parts of the body, other symptoms may also appear.
Causes of bladder cancer
Several elements may promote the development of bladder cancer. More than half of the tumors are attributed to excessive smoking . Indeed, regular smokers are three times more likely than non-smokers.
Other risk factors include prolonged exposure to toxic substances (chemicals), such as people working in the textile industry, chronic infection, or taking certain medications.
Treatment of bladder cancer
The treatment of bladder cancer will depend on the stage and grade of the tumor at the time of diagnosis. His goal at first is to suppress the tumor . In the case of a superficial tumor, simple removal of the tumor may be sufficient. In case of tumor infiltrated into the muscle of the wall, ablation of the entire bladder may be necessary. This is a cystectomy.
In order to slow the development of metastases and reduce the risk of recurrence , surgery is often associated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy . Regular medical follow-up is maintained after treatment to ensure that the tumor does not resurface.
Prognosis of bladder cancer
The vital prognosis of bladder cancer also depends on the grade and especially the stage of the tumor. The more cancer is developed, the lower the survival prognosis . Similarly, a small tumor is more likely to be controlled.
In more than 80% of cases, people who had undergone superficial bladder cancer returned to normal life five years later. This falls to 50% in the case of infiltrating tumor present deep in the wall of the bladder and to 20% if it has reached the neighboring tissues.
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