Bladder cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers, that affect adults, especially in the United States. This is a condition in which the bladder cells grow abnormally, and can also spread to other parts of the body. Some of the signs and symptoms of this disease include hematuria, discomfort associated with urination, lower back pain and so on. There are some factors that can also lead to the development of the disease. Some of these factors include family history, exposure to toxic chemicals and a large amount of radiation, infections, and so on. There are various types of bladder cancer, and some of them include transitional cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma. Transitional cell carcinoma is the most prevalent type of bladder cancer. Bladder cancer can be diagnosed by cystoscopies and tissue biopsies. Imaging tests can also be used for this purpose. This disease is treatable. However, this depends on the stage of the disease. Bladder cancer in its early stages, while the late stage type usually has a poor prognosis. There are several approaches to the treatment of bladder carcinoma. These ranges from surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. The kind of method your doctor would suggest depends entirely on the stage of cancer. Lastly, shockwave therapy can also be used for the treatment of this disease.
What Are The Causes Of Bladder Cancer?
Bladder cancer occurs when the bladder cells grow abnormally. These cells develop mutations that cause them to grow abnormally and not die. These cells can aggregate together to form tumours. Below are some of the causes of bladder cancer;
a. Smoking: Smoking contains a lot of toxic components that could lead to the development of diseases. According to studies, a stick of cigarette has over 64 carcinogens. It’s important to avoid smoking, especially if the individual has a high risk of developing bladder cancer.
b. Exposure to radiations: Excessive exposure to radiations can lead to the development of bladder cancer. People who regularly go for radiation tests might have a high risk of developing bladder cancer.
c. Exposure to chemicals: People that work with toxic chemicals or gets exposed to them could develop bladder cancer.
d. Infections: Parasitic infections, especially in people that are not from the United States can develop bladder cancer.
e. Prolonged irritation of the bladder lining: The chronic irritation of the bladder can lead to the development of bladder cancer.
f. Others: Sometimes bladder cancer just develops, without an obvious cause.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms Of Bladder Cancer?
Bladder cancer presents with different kinds of signs and symptoms. However, the symptoms presented depends on the stage of the disease. Below are some of the signs and symptoms of bladder cancer;
• Hematuria: This is one of the classic signs of bladder cancer. People affected by bladder carcinoma do complain of the redness of their urine. This is due to the presence of blood. You might sometimes need the aid of a microscope to see the blood. Hematuria is one of the most prevalent symptoms of bladder carcinoma. Hematuria occurs in almost all cases of bladder cancer.
• Pain associated with urination: Patients also complain of pain when urinating. In addition to this, people affected by this disease also present with urine urgency, regular urination. However, these symptoms might also be present in other diseases of the urinary system. This includes benign prostate hypertrophy, infections, inflammation of the bladder and so on.
• Oedema: This symptom occurs in the advanced stage of bladder cancer.
• Urination problems: This is one of the symptoms associated with disease of the urinary system. It’s not just peculiar to bladder cancer but to another disease of the entire urinary system. Patients do complain of urine urgency, and pain during urination.
• Formation of stones: This is quite common in people affected by bladder cancer. They do experience the formation of stones in their bladder and ureter. Apart from this, patients might also develop infections in the other components of the urinary systems such as in the kidney.
What Are The Types Of Bladder Cancer?
As earlier mentioned, there are various types of bladder cancer. The type of bladder cancer is determined by where the cancer cells begin to develop from. Below are some of the common bladder cancer;
• Urothelial carcinoma: Urothelial carcinoma, also known as transitional cell carcinoma is the type of bladder cancer that develops in the inner part of the bladder. These cells expand when the bladder is full and contracts, especially when it’s empty. The cells in the bladder are the same with the ones in the ureters, urethra. The abnormal cells can also develop there. Transitional carcinoma is the most common type of bladder cancer.
• Squamous cell carcinoma: This type of bladder cancer is caused by the prolonged irritation of the bladder. This can be as a result of an infection, or prolonged use of a urinary catheter. This type of carcinoma is more prevalent in areas that have a lot parasitic infection cases. Schistosomiasis is an example of this type of infection.
• Adenocarcinoma: This type of carcinoma develops in cells that make up mucus-secreting glands in the bladder.
What Are The Risk Factors Of Developing Bladder Cancer?
There are some factors that increase the risk of developing bladder cancer. Some of the factors include the following;
a. Smoking: Smoking contains a lot of toxic components that could lead to the development of diseases. According to studies, a stick of cigarette has over 64 carcinogens. It’s important to avoid smoking, especially if the individual has a high risk of developing bladder cancer.
b. Age: The risk of developing bladder cancer increases as one age. This is why this disease rarely develops in people below the age of 40.
How Is Bladder Cancer Treated?
There are several approaches to the treatment of bladder carcinoma. These ranges from surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. The kind of method your doctor would suggest depends entirely on the stage of cancer.
Stem Cell Therapy and Bladder Cancer
Scientists are presently working on understanding how cancer stem cells contribute to relapse and resistance to treatments. This is important in creating an effective therapy for the treatment of bladder cancer.
References
Bladder cancer: diagnosis and management of bladder cancer. (2017). BJU International, 120(6), pp.755-765.
National Cancer Institute. (2018). Bladder Cancer. [online] Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder [Accessed 12 Mar. 2018].
Pathway analysis of bladder cancer genome-wide association study identifies novel pathways involved in bladder cancer development. (2016). Genes & Cancer.
