Bladder cancer is a fairly common type of cancer. The most common symptom of cancer of the bladder is passing blood in your urine.

The bladder

The bladder is designed to store urine and is a hollow, balloon-like organ that is located in the pelvis connected to the kidneys by tubes called ureters which opens to the outside of the body. The urethra In women is a short tube that lies in front of the vagina. But men have longer urethra, which passes to the tip of the penis through the prostate gland.

The kidneys filter waste products that are mixed with water to create urine and pass this out of your blood, through the kidneys and into the bladder and through the ureters. The urine passes out of the bladder through another tube called the urethra  when the bladder is full and then passed the water out of the vagina or penis upon urination.

Types of bladder cancer

Bladder cancer can be classified in two different ways according to the type of bladder cells the cancer begins in, and according to how far the cancer has spread when it is first diagnosed.

Bladder cancer by cell type

The most common type of bladder cancer is known as transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), which is responsible for 90% of all cases of bladder cancer. TCC is cancer that starts in the inner lining of the bladder. Some bladder cancers begin as an invasive tumour growing into the muscle wall of the bladder. Others begin at a non-invasive stage that involves only the inner lining of the bladder. Some non-invasive cancers develop into invasive bladder cancer.

The lining of the bladder is known as the transitional epithelium. Less common types of bladder cancer include:

1. squamous cell bladder cancer - which is cancer that starts in the upper lining of the bladder, and accounts for 2% of all cases, and
2. adenocarcinoma of the bladder - which is cancer that starts in specialised cells in the lining of the bladder that are responsible for producing mucus. This type of bladder cancer is responsible for between 1-2% of all cases.

Bladder cancer by spread

There are two main ways that bladder cancer can be classified according to how far it has spread:

1. non-invasive bladder cancer (also known as superficial bladder cancer) – is a term that is used to describe cases of bladder cancer that have not spread beyond the lining of the bladder, and
2. muscle invasive bladder cancer (sometimes simply known as invasive bladder cancer) – is a term that is used to describe cases of bladder cancer that have spread beyond the lining of the bladder and into the surrounding muscles.

An estimated 70% of cases are diagnosed as non-invasive bladder cancer, and the remaining 30% are diagnosed as muscle invasive bladder cancer.

How common is bladder cancer?

Men are twice as likely to develop bladder cancer as women. The risk of developing bladder cancer increases the older a person becomes, with 80% of cases occurring in people who are over 65 years of age.

Smoking is the leading risk factor for bladder cancer which is thought to be responsible for 50% of all cases of bladder cancer.

The outlook for non-invasive bladder cancer is very good. A cure is usually achievable and 90% of people will live for at least five years after receiving a diagnosis, with many living much longer.

The outlook for muscle-invasive bladder cancer is less favourable because achieving a complete cure is often not possible. An estimated 50% of people with muscle-invasive bladder cancer will die within five years of receiving a diagnosis.

Treatment for bladder cancer includes radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery.The available treatments are covered in two articles. See the links below.

Related articles:

1. Preventing bladder cancer
2. Complications of bladder cancer
3. Treatments for invasive bladder cancer
4. Treatment for non-invasive bladder cancer
5. Diagnosing bladder cancer
6.  Symptoms and causes of bladder cancer
7. Bowel Cancer
8. Prostate cancer

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Related posts:

1. Bladder Cancer: Symptoms And Causes
2. Treatment for non-invasive bladder cancer
3. Treatments for invasive bladder cancer
4. Bladder Cancer: Diagnoses
5. Preventing bladder cancer
6. Complications of bladder cancer
7. Prostate Cancer
8. Treatments: Uterine Cancer Or Uterus Cancer