Cancer of The Bladder and Kidney – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Cancer within the kidney, the ureter or the lining of the bladder.

A malignant tumour of the bladder, the organ that stores urine. Bladder cancer is diagnosed in about 38,000 men and 15,000 girls in the United States each year. In America, it’s the fourth-most-common type of cancer that guys expertise and the eighth-most-common among girls. The five-year survival rate for bladder cancer is high: 71 percent for patients who are age 75 and older, compared to 86 percent for patients who are younger than age 65.

Based on the National Cancer Institute in America, bladder cancer is found more often in some industrialized countries, including the USA, Canada, France, Denmark, Italy, and Spain. The speeds of bladder cancer prevalence are lower in the Uk and Eastern Europe, and they’re lower still in Asia and South America, where their citizens have about one third the prevalence of bladder cancer cases discovered in America.

Place of The Cancer

The bladder wall contains both transitional cells and squamous cells. Based on the National Cancer Institute, when bladder cancer happens, nearly all the time (90 percent) it grows in the transitional cells. This is likewise called transitional cell carcinoma.

In other instances of bladder cancer, the cancer grows in the squamous cells, which is called squamous cell carcinoma. In a minority of instances, cancer types in the lining of the bladder. This kind of bladder cancer is referred to as superficial bladder cancer, or carcinoma in situ.

Known Risks For Bladder Cancer

Researchers have discovered patterns among patients diagnosed with bladder cancer. They’re more likely to meet these groups:

• Individuals who are older than age 40
• Male (guys have a two to three times greater risk of developing bladder cancer)
• White (Caucasians develop bladder cancer at around twice the speed of African Americans and Hispanic Americans. Asians have an even lower rate of bladder cancer)
• Tobacco user (Cigarette smokers have double to triple the risk of getting bladder cancer. Pipe and cigar smokers also have a higher risk. Some researchers consider that tobacco smoking damages the DNA. An estimated half of all bladder cancers in men and one third in girls are attributed to smoking)
• Occupational vulnerability due to employment in rubber, fabric, dye, and leather sectors
• Having other family members that have had bladder cancer
• Preceding history of bladder cancer (If an individual has had bladder cancer before, it may recur)

Causes

There is evidence that suggests that half of the bladder cancers in both the United States and the United Kingdom are caused by cigarette smoking. Exposure to certain chemicals called amines, which are concentrated in the bladder and which are found in the rubber and chemical industries, probably account for another 10% of bladder cancer cases. In addition, schistosomiasis, a parasitic tropical disease, is an important cause of cancer of the bladder in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.

Bladder cancer can extend into the urethra, the narrow outlet that leads from the bladder, and the ureters, the tubes that drain urine from the kidneys.

In children cancer of the kidney is usually caused by cells that have been left over from the embryonic development process. (This is also the case with most of the other rare childhood cancers.) Kidney cancer in children is treated much more successfully than it is in adults, in whom kidney cancer develops from normal cells that turn malignant.

In adults there is some weak evidence linking kidney cancer to smoking or chemicals at work. Some cases are due to taking the painkiller phenacetin, now banned in most parts of the world. The majority, however, are of unknown origin.

Symptoms

People who have bladder cancer may have blood within their urine, experience pain during urination, and feel a need to urinate often. The bladder may also feel quite irritated. Yet, these are also symptoms of a common and readily treatable bladder infection.

The prime symptom in both cancers is blood in the urine. Unlike infection, where there is stinging as well as blood, this is normally painless. Even so doctors are cautious if someone with apparent cystitis has blood as well. It is a sensible precaution to test urine samples after antibiotic treatment in case microscopic amounts of blood are still present. The same goes for recurrent urinary infections. At some point a specialist must further investigate the urinary tract.

The diagnosis of bladder cancer is made by cystoscopy, looking inside the bladder and sampling any suspicious-looking areas on the walls of the bladder, urethra or ureters.

In cancer of the kidney, pain over the kidney is likely, as well as the general cancer effects of weight loss and loss of appetite. This cancer is an unusual but well-recognized cause of persistent fever and sweats. It may be possible to feel an abnormal mass in the abdomen, which is the way in which it is often detected in children. Diagnostic aids are scanning with ultrasound, CT or MRI.

Diagnosis

If the physician suspects bladder cancer, they will assess the abdomen and pelvis for tumors and may additionally perform a rectal exam. A girl may additionally receive a vaginal examination. Other tests that can find a potential tumour are the intravenous pyleogram (IVP) in which dye is injected into a blood vessel to get the bladder show up clearly on specific X-rays.

A urologist may additionally perform a cystoscopy, which is a process in which a special tube is inserted into the bladder so the physician can scrutinize it from the interior. Additionally it is potential for the physician to remove tissue during this process, which can be biopsied to check for cancer.

In 2001, doctor researchers at Yale University reported on a pee test they had developed to find cancer cells. The test detects a protein called living, which researchers found in patients with new and recurring bladder cancer. It wasn’t present in ordinary patients or in patients with other types of cancer. This test may simplify detection, once approved for general use.

Staging of Bladder Cancer

In phase 0 (zero) of bladder cancer, the cancer cells are just on the surface of the inside lining of the bladder. Such a cancer might also be called superficial cancer, or carcinoma in situ. About 70 percent of all bladder cancers are diagnosed at this period.

In Phase I, the cancer cells are found more deeply in the bladder lining but haven’t propagate farther.

In Stage II, cancer cells have invaded the muscle of the bladder.

In Stage III, the cancer cells have farther propagate through the entire bladder and may have gone beyond the bladder to the prostate gland in men or the uterus or vagina in girls.

In Stage IV, the most advanced period of bladder cancer, the cancer cells have extended to other sites of the body as far away as the lungs or other organs.

Treatment

If bladder cancer is diagnosed from a biopsy, additional tests may be needed to help determine the course of treatment. Computerized tomography (CT) scans or magnetic resonance imaging (mri) scans may help determine the period of the bladder cancer. Bone scans may also help with theatrical production, as may other evaluations that the physician orders.

Bladder cancer may be treated with surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or biological treatment.

Operation in many cases of bladder cancer, the physician selects some type of operation. Superficial bladder cancer may be treated with transurethral resection, at which physician uses a cystoscope and specific tools to remove the cancer. Radiation therapy or chemotherapy may be recommended following this process.

Sometimes, including when the cancer is confined to just one section of the bladder, then just the cancerous part of the bladder is removed. This is called a segmental cystectomy.

If the cancer is more advanced, the patient may want the whole bladder removed (radical cystectomy). The physician will take out the entire bladder, the lymph nodes in the region, part of the urethra, and any organs nearby that could include cancer, including the prostate gland in men or the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, and part of the vagina in girls.

If the whole bladder is removed, the surgeon must form another way for urine to be accumulated. The physician may have the ability to create a fresh pouch for pee inside the body, using some of the patient’s own intestine, or patients may must wear a bag on the outside of their bodies.

A cystectomy may make men impotent after the operation, but in some instances, this complication can be prevented. For girls, sexual intercourse may become hard if the surgeon has had to remove part of the vagina. Patients who’ve had segmental cystectomies may have to urinate more often, at least in the beginning, although the effect may be permanent.

Chemotherapy

The usage of cancer-killing drugs may be the recommended treatment for bladder cancer. Sometimes, the chemotherapy drug is added into the bladder and left there for several hours (intravesical chemotherapy). This treatment may happen once weekly or once a month for several weeks or up to a year, determined by the physician’s recommendation.

For instances at which cancer is deeply embedded in the bladder, patients who receive chemotherapy may need intravenous therapy, where the drugs are administered through the vein. How often intravenous chemotherapy is desired depends upon the individual instance.

Radiation Therapy

If the cancer cells must be irradiated, the radiation can be added by a unique machine found in a hospital or practice. Another alternative is for the physician to add radioactive materials surgically. Patients must be hospitalized for a couple of days during this process and treatment. Radiation therapy may cause nausea and vomiting.

It may also cause erectile dysfunction in men and vaginal dryness in women. Generally these effects aren’t long-term.

Biological Treatment

Doctors who select biological treatment use a Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) option (or another kind of faded bacteria), inserting it into the bladder with a catheter. The patient is instructed to keep the option in the bladder for several hours. The aim is for these bacteria to arouse the individual’s immune system and thereby kill not only the bacteria but also the cancer cells. A minority of patients (about 5 percent) have developed a serious response to this type of treatment like a high temperature. It isn’t usually used in patients with low-stage tumours.

QUESTIONS

How common are these tumours?

Growths in the bladder are quite common (nearly 5% of all cancers) and can usually be treated successfully. Kidney cancer (1—2% of all cancers) causes vaguer symptoms so tends to be more advanced by the lime of diagnosis.

And in children?

Kidney cancer affects about one in a hundred thousand children up to three years of age, then becomes extremely uncommon until late adult life. In children it is called a nephroblastoma or Wilm’s tumour and is much more likely to be curable than in an adult.

How serious is blood in the urine?

It should never be ignored even though the great majority of cases will be due to infection or no detectable serious reason.

Complementary Treatment

Always have blood in urine checked by a doctor. Complementary therapies can play a valuable supportive role, although they cannot cure cancer.

Deep relaxation techniques, such as chakra balancing, can be helpful. Aromatherapy with massage can help bring about a sense of well being.

Reflexology is also recommended. Check that your chosen practitioner is experienced in working with cancer.

Future Prognosis

Doctors are seeking genetic markers for bladder cancer to facilitate an early analysis. They’re also investigating genetic therapies and other types of treatments.