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Bladder cancer – all about this disease

Lately, an increasing number of cases of cancer of the bladder, both in women and men. However, there were significant differences by gender. So, bladder cancer in men takes the eighth place in the structure of oncological diseases, at that time, as the female is the eighteenth place.

The causes of the cancer process in the bladder

The causative factors that lead to the development of bladder cancer, it is still not installed. Modern Oncology proposes to allocate certain risk factors that increase the likelihood of developing malignant cancer process. These factors include:

  • male gender;
  • age (after age 60 significantly increases the incidence of cancer of the bladder);
  • any race, except the Negro, as the incidence of this disease in blacks the lowest;
  • Smoking, which increases the risk of bladder cancer by 2-3 times;
  • prolonged contact with aromatic hydrocarbons;
  • shistosomes;
  • frequent urinary tract infections, especially long-term current, which disrupts the normal process of regeneration of the bladder epithelium;
  • receiving cyclophosphamide and analgesics on the basis of phenacetin;
  • exposure to ionizing radiation, which has a negative impact on the genetic apparatus of the cell;
  • abuse of salt in food, as well as the predominance in the diet of proteins;
  • family history of the disease (family history of bladder cancer).

Scientific research has found that certain foods in the diet can reduce the likelihood of developing bladder cancer. These include:

  • vegetable oil and margarine, which contain large amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids;
  • beta-carotene (fruits and vegetables with yellow-orange coloration);
  • foods that contain large amounts of potassium (apricots, figs, raisins, etc.);
  • foods rich in vitamin C (citrus, currant, cabbage, etc.)

What is bladder cancer?

The main symptoms of bladder cancer include the following:

  • hematuria – the appearance of blood in the urine;
  • dysuric disorders (abnormal urination);
  • pain syndrome;
  • swelling of the lower extremities.

rak mochevogo puzyryaLet's talk about each symptom in greater detail. Hematuria can be of two types. Is microhematuria in which the blood cells in the urine can be seen only with a microscope and gross hematuria, when the urine becomes red due to the huge number of red blood cells in it. The more advanced the process, the hematuria more intense. With the defeat of the bladder neck blood in urine may appear only at the end of urination. In case, if there is blood clotting in the cavity of the bladder, there is the risk of acute urinary retention. It develops as a result of blockage of the opening of the urethra in the bladder formed blood clot.

Dysuric disorders develop as a result of either a secondary infection or due to obstruction of the urinary tract. If you receive such a complaint, as painful and frequent urination, but bacteriological examination not revealed any abnormalities, it is necessary to exclude local cancer treatment process.

Pain syndrome may develop as a result of various mechanisms that occur with bladder cancer. It can be:

  • the pain associated with infection of the urinary tract;
  • the pain caused by a violation of excretion of urine from the body;
  • the pain, the cause of which lies in the infiltration of the wallsbladder.

    • At the beginning of the pain syndrome is the localization above the vagina, and with further progression of the pathological process it is distributed in the crotch region and in the sacral region.

    Invasive bladder cancer is accompanied by early metastasis, which occurs primarily in the regional lymph nodes. Therefore, there is swelling of the lower limbs. Therefore, the exclusion of other possible causes of this symptom, it is necessary to examine the patient for bladder cancer.

    How to diagnose bladder cancer?

    rak mochevogo puzyryaClinical signs of bladder cancer, as a rule, only help to suspect cancer in this organ. For the final diagnosis requires further research methods. They also allow you to assess the stage of the malignant process that is necessary to determine further tactics of patient management.
    The greatest value among all available additional methods of diagnostics acquires cystoscopy with biopsy. With its help it is possible to directly visualize the bladder wall, as well as to obtain material for histological examination. And the last is the "gold" standard of diagnosis of any cancer.

    In addition, apply other methods, which include:

  • cytological examination of urine. It is of the greatest diagnostic value in poorly differentiated bladder cancer. Its informative value in this case close to 70%. However, high-grade differentiated cancer of this method is very difficult to diagnose since cancer cells are usually not subject into the urine;
  • detection in urine special cancer markers (determination of nuclear matrix protein, telomerase, BTA, etc.);
  • computed tomography with the use of transabdominal ultrasound sensor. Its diagnostic value is much higher than with intravenous urography, which is almost never used nowadays. Particularly indicated computed tomography in infiltrative cancer because it allows to evaluate the prevalence of the pathological process in the uterine wall. This method also evaluates the condition of the nearest regional lymph nodes, which usually occurs metastasis;
  • radiography of the chest is carried out for all patients who have cancer of the bladder, to exclude lung metastases;
  • computer tomography of abdominal cavity organs and retroperitoneal space is carried out with the same purpose.

    • Tactics of treatment of diagnosed bladder cancer

    The main methods of treatment of bladder cancer include:

    • transurethral resection of the bladder;
    • radiation therapy;
    • surgical treatment.

    The choice of treatment is influenced by stage of the cancer process. As a rule, in the first stage, it is sufficient transurethral resection of the bladder. Than the neglect of the process, the more comprehensive and radical must be the treatment program. Its objective is to maximize the prognosis of the disease.

    The main factors that determine the prognosis, as follows:

    • the number of tumor loci at the time, when first diagnosed with bladder cancer;
    • recurrence after treatment (the most unfavorable appearance of relapse within three months after treatment);
    • the size of malignant tumors (the higher it is, the worse the prognosis);
    • the degree of differentiation (distinguish between high-, medium - and poorly-differentiated cancers). The lower the degree of differentiation, the worse the prognosis of the disease, since the frequencyof relapses is high.

    In conclusion, it should be noted that bladder cancer is a common disease, the incidence of which is increased, particularly in men. Bladder cancer in women is much rarer. Of great importance in the prognosis of this disease is early detection of this pathological process. It is necessary to apply innovative methods of diagnosis. They clarify the stage of the cancer lesions of the urinary bladder and to determine further tactics of conducting the patient.