Blad­der can­cer

Urinary bladder carcinoma or urothelial carcinoma accounts for around 3% of all malignant diseases in Europe and particularly affects people between the ages of 50 and 70. Men are affected about 3 times more frequently than women.

The most common symptom is blood in the urine. Pain and irregular urination may also occur.

Possible triggers include smoking, certain medications and chemicals as well as radiation and certain chronic bladder infections such as schistosomiasis, which can occur as a complication after travelling in the tropics.

The diagnosis is usually made via cystoscopy. Additional examinations such as ultrasound, computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are often necessary to determine the extent of the disease.

Early forms of carcinoma are removed as part of a cystoscopy (transurethral resection or TUR). As the tumour often occurs in several places and carries a high risk of recurrence, multiple endoscopies are often necessary at short intervals. In the case of larger tumours, removal of the bladder may be the only curative option.

Drug treatment
In individual cases, chemotherapy may be necessary before an operation to shrink the cancer in order to achieve a better surgical result. In addition, immunotherapy in combination with targeted therapy may be necessary to stabilise the disease situation or even shrink the metastases in the case of metastatic disease. This treatment can alleviate the consequences of the disease and enable a longer life.