What Are Causes Bladder Cancer?

What causes bladder cancer - About the precise causes of bladder cancer, little is known yet. It is clear, however, that there are some risk factors that increase the risk of bladder cancer:

• Smokers have three times as much chance of bladder cancer as non-smokers.
• People who have been in frequent contact with aromatic amines, especially 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl, and benzidine, also have a greater chance of bladder cancer. Aromatic amines are carcinogens that have been used frequently in the pharmaceutical and rubber industry.
• After prolonged irritation, such as in a chronic infection or bladder stones, tumors may develop.
• There is a (rare) hereditary form of bladder cancer. Have two family members in the first line (ie father, mother, brother or sister) bladder cancer, then there is an increased risk. After consultation with the GP, a hereditary study may be performed.

Bladder Cancer Diagnosis
The GP will initially discuss the complaints with the patient and physically examine him/her. Urine examination and possible blood tests are performed. When clear blood in the urine is detected without evidence of inflammation, the patient will be referred to a urologist.

A survey (cystoscopy) must then indicate whether there is a tumor in the bladder. If this is the case, this tissue is removed under a form of anesthesia and may also take biopsies of the bladder. If the tumor is too deep in the wall, then additional research is needed. The results can determine what the best treatment is.



If the tumor grows in the bladder's muscle layer, additional research is required. This may include the following:

• MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanning: Uses a combination of a magnetic field, radio waves, and a computer. Cross-sectional or longitudinal cross sections of the body are made to locate possible tumors and/or metastases.
• CT (computed tomography) scan: a possible tumor in the kidney basin or ureters is visualized.
• Long Photo (X-thorax): Brings the chest into view so that it can be examined for sowing.
• Botscan (skeletal scintigraphy): check whether there are bones in the bones.
• Ultrasound: Displays organs and/or tissues using sound waves. Ultrasound can detect any tumor and/or metastases.

Cystoscopy
A cystoscopy is an internal examination of the urethra and the bladder. This uses a cystoscope. This is a thin hollow tube filled with glass fibers or a lens system connected to a light source. The cystoscope is inserted into the bladder via the urethra. Through the lens at the end of the cystoscope, the specialist can then look through a viewer in the urethra and bladder. There is a flexible cystoscope for male examination and a non-flexible variant for women.

If a tumor is found in the bladder during the cystoscopy, it is removed. This happens under general anesthesia or via a spinal cord. After a microscopic examination of the tumor, a final diagnosis can be made. It is usually a malignant papillary tumor.

Bladder Cancer Treatment
What treatment is possible depends on a number of factors:

• type and number of tumors
• superficial or deep ingrowth on the wall
• whether or not nozzles

In the case of bladder cancer, in most cases, there is a superficial, non-muscle invasive growth. As a result, the tumor can be easily removed. However, the forecast remains uncertain after that; The disease can easily return. If the tumor has grown deeper (muscle invasive), it is usually necessary to use more extensive treatments.

Curative and palliative
In discussions with the doctor about the treatment, the terms can be curative and palliative. In the first case (curative) treatment is aimed at cure. In palliative treatments, there is no longer a chance of cure. Instead, trying to extend life and improve quality of life.

Bladder Cancer Prognosis
Also after curing of bladder cancer, the risk of recurrence of the disease remains. In most cases, survival rates are maintained for a period of five years after diagnosis. After cure, the patient remains under control for a number of years.

In non-muscle invasive tumors
In patients with non-muscle infarction bladder tumor, the survival rate after recovery of the disease is high: about 70 to 90%. Almost always, the recurrence is again non-muscle invasive. Sometimes, however, this is also muscle-intensive. In the latter case, the outlook is worse.

In muscle invasive tumors
In case of a muscle-invasive tumor, five-year survival is more difficult to predict. The exact figures depend on the severity and size of the tumor but are roughly between 30 and 80%. In the case of sowing, the outlook is considerably worse (about 30% in lymph nodes and about 10% in sowing elsewhere in the body).

*Image source : National Cancer Institute

References :

1. National Cancer Institute
2. Blaaskanker.nl
3. American Cancer Society