Urothelial carcinoma (Bladder cancer) is cancer that begins in the urothelium, the tissue that lines parts of your urinary system. As per Cleveland Clinic, Bladder cancer accounts for about 90% of all cases of bladder cancer and 7% of all cases of kidney cancer, including cancer in the renal pelvis and ureter.
Kidney cancer is the 8 most common cancers. Urothelial kidney cancer represents about 7% of all kidney cancers.
Symptoms of Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer may not cause symptoms right away. Blood in your pee (urine) is the first noticeable symptom. You should contact a healthcare provider if you notice blood in your pee or other symptoms, such as:
- Consistent back pain.
- Tiredness.
- Unexplained weight loss.
- Pain while urinating.
- A mass or lump in the kidney area.
- Low-grade fever.
Causes of Bladder Cancer
Healthcare providers and researchers don’t know why certain bladder cells mutate and become cancerous. Healthcare professionals identified various different risk factors that might increase the chance of developing bladder cancer, namely:
- Smoking
- Exposure to radiation
- Chemotherapy
- Exposure to certain chemicals like hazardous environments at the workplace
- Frequent bladder infections
- Chronic catheter use, etc.
Diagnosis of Bladder Cancer
Healthcare professionals do a series of tests to diagnose bladder cancer, such as:
- Urinalysis
- Cytology
- Cystoscopy
If urinalysis, cytology and cystoscopy results show that one have bladder cancer, healthcare providers then do tests to learn more about cancer, namely:
- Transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test
- Computed tomography (CT) scan
- Chest X-ray
- Bone scan
Treatment options for Bladder cancer
Healthcare professionals do treatment based on many factors, such as the stage and grade of cancer, your overall health, and your preferences.
Surgery: For bladder cancer surgery is the main treatment. The type of surgery on the basis where the cancer is located.
Radiation therapy: Treatment through radiation uses high-energy X-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing.
Chemotherapy: In chemotherapy professionals use drugs to stop the growth of cancerous cells, either by killing the cells or by stopping them from dividing. There are several drugs, such as carboplatin, cisplatin, etc.
Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy helps the immune system in fighting cancer. There are several drugs for immunotherapy, such as Avelumab, Nivolumab, etc.
Targeted therapy: Targeted therapy uses medicines or other substances to stop the action of certain proteins, enzymes, or other molecules involved in the growth and spread of cancerous cells. Drugs for targeted therapy are ramucirumab, sacituzumab govitecan-hziy, etc.
Reference: bit.ly/41gggQy
