Are all tumors found in the bladder cancer?

Is cancer of the bladder serious?

The outlook for people with stage 0a (non-invasive papillary) bladder cancer is excellent. These cancers are nearly always cured with treatment. These cancers have a higher risk of coming back, and may return as a more serious cancer that is growing into deeper layers of the bladder or has spread to other tissues.

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy: Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is the main intravesical immunotherapy for treating early-stage bladder cancer. BCG is a germ that is related to the one that causes tuberculosis (TB), but it doesn’t usually cause serious disease. BCG is put directly into the bladder through a catheter.

Surgical options to treat bladder cancer include: Transurethral bladder tumor resection (TURBT). During TURBT, a surgeon inserts a cystoscope through the urethra into the bladder. The surgeon then removes the tumor using a tool with a small wire loop, a laser, or fulguration (high-energy electricity).

If you have stage 2 bladder cancer, it means cancer cells have invaded connective tissue in the muscle wall, but it hasn’t spread outside the bladder or reached the lymph nodes. Stage 2 bladder cancer is treatable and often curable.

Urothelial carcinoma, also known as transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), is by far the most common type of bladder cancer. In fact, if you are told you have bladder cancer it is almost certain to be a urothelial carcinoma. These cancers start in the urothelial cells that line the inside of the bladder.

Bladder Cancer: Symptoms and Signs

Blood or blood clots in the urine.

Pain or burning sensation during urination.

Frequent urination.

Feeling the need to urinate many times throughout the night.

Feeling the need to urinate, but not being able to pass urine.

Lower back pain on 1 side of the body.

A mass of cancerous cells is called a malignant tumor or cancer. These are called benign tumors. They do not metastasize. Of the different types of cells that form the bladder, the cells lining the inside of the bladder wall are those most likely to develop cancer.

These cancers are nearly always cured with treatment. During long-term follow-up care, more superficial cancers are often found in the bladder or elsewhere in the urinary system. Although these new cancers do need to be treated, they rarely are deeply invasive or life threatening.

Non-cancerous tumours of the bladder. A non-cancerous, or benign, tumour of the bladder is a growth that does not spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body. Non-cancerous tumours are not usually life-threatening. They are usually removed by surgery and do not usually come back (recur).

This is called lymphatic spread. Bladder cancer can spread this way. If it does, it usually first spreads to the lymph nodes in the pelvis, surrounding the bladder (called perivesicular lymph nodes). From there, it can spread to lymph nodes that are close to major blood vessels that run into the leg and pelvis.

Late symptoms of bladder cancer include:

loss of appetite.

weight loss.

anemia.

fever.

change in bowel habits.

pain in the rectum, anus, pelvis, flank (the side of the body) above the pubic bone or in bones.

a lump in the pelvis.

Usually, the early stages of bladder cancer cause bleeding but little or no pain or other symptoms. Blood in the urine does not always mean you have bladder cancer. More often it is caused by other things like an infection, benign (non-cancerous) tumors, stones in the kidney or bladder, or other benign kidney diseases.

Stage II bladder cancer. Described as T2a or T2b, N0, M0, stage II means that the cancer has grown into the muscle layer of the bladder wall. It has not grown through the muscle layer into the fatty tissue surrounding the bladder. In this bladder cancer stage, the disease has not spread to lymph nodes or distant sites.

People should be alert to blood in their urine if it is painless and grossly red. They should seek medical attention and not be satisfied if they are told they may only have an infection. If caught early, bladder cancer is a curable disease. If caught late, it is more difficult.

The following factors may raise a person’s risk of developing bladder cancer: Tobacco use. The most common risk factor is cigarette smoking, although smoking cigars and pipes can also raise the risk of developing bladder cancer. Smokers are 4 to 7 times more likely to develop bladder cancer than nonsmokers.

For example, if the 5-year relative survival rate for a specific stage of bladder cancer is 80%, it means that people who have that stage of cancer are, on average, about 80% as likely as people who don’t have that cancer to live for at least 5 years after being diagnosed.

Tests for bladder cancer look for different substances or cancer cells in the urine. Urinalysis: One way to test for bladder cancer is to check for blood in the urine (called hematuria). Urine cytology does find some cancers, but it is not reliable enough to make a good screening test.

If a bladder polyp is cancerous, or it’s large enough to cause symptoms or affect your bladder function, your doctor will remove it. One way to remove polyps is with a type of surgery called transurethral bladder resection (TURBT). The doctor first puts a cystoscope through your urethra into your bladder.

Treatment of stage IV bladder cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body may include the following: Chemotherapy. Radical cystectomy alone or followed by chemotherapy. External radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy.

There are other urine tests using molecular analysis that can be done to help find cancer, usually at the same time as urinary cytology. Cystoscopy. Cystoscopy is the key diagnostic procedure for bladder cancer. It allows the doctor to see inside the body with a thin, lighted, flexible tube called a cystoscope.

Smokers are at least three times more likely to develop bladder cancer than non-smokers. Other risk factors include: bladder defects that are present from birth. undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy.