Bladder Cancer: Diagnosis and Management

Excerpt

Bladder cancer is the seventh most common cancer in the UK, with just over 10,000 cases diagnosed each year (CRUK, 2013a). These are unevenly split between men (fourth most common cancer) and women (11th most common cancer).

Around 5,000 people each year die from bladder cancer, making it the seventh most common cause of cancer death (CRUK, 2013b). As with new diagnoses these are unevenly split between men (sixth most common cancer death) and women (12th most common cancer death).

There are a number of well-known risk factors for bladder cancer, with the main risk being increasing age. Smoking is also a key risk and the chance of developing bladder cancer is about three times higher in smokers (Parkin, 2011a). There are also certain industrial chemicals linked to bladder cancer: these chemicals are now controlled but it is estimated they account for about 7% of males and 2% of female bladder cancers (Parkin, 2011b).