Bladder cancer in women

Abstract

Bladder cancer is seen mainly in men. The incidence in women is increasing, but is still approximately three to four times lower than in men. In particular transitional cell cancers seem relatively more common in men then in women (ratio 4:1), but non-transitional cell cancer is also more frequent in men (ratio 2.7: 1). As for men, smoking is the most important known factor for bladder cancer in women. Coffee-drinking also showed a weak correlation, the odds ratio being found to be twice as high for women (5.2) as for men (2.6). It was estimated that the percentage of bladder cancers attributed to occupational exposure in the United States is 11% in women, compared to 21% in men. Urinary tract infections are related to bladder cancer. The role of human papilloma virus infections, important in cervical cancer, is unclear in bladder cancer development. Surprisingly, bladder cancer is more often of a higher stage at initial diagnosis in women. With current tumor markers no explanation for the different prognosis in men and women can be postulated. The treatment of superficial bladder cancer tumors is similar for men and women. In recent years orthotopic bladder replacement has improved quality of life after cystectomy in invasive disease.