Bladder cancer is one of the more common genitourinary malignancies and is responsible for approximately 175,000 deaths worldwide annually. The onset of bladder cancer is insidious and often presents with non-specific symptoms or is diagnosed on workup for other conditions. Hematuria, which is the presence of blood in the urine, is one of the most common findings on clinical workup for this disease.
Bladder cancer can be subdivided into invasive and noninvasive forms of disease. Using cystoscopy – a procedure that allows urologists to examine the surface of the bladder with a small camera - noninvasive bladder cancer can be identified on the surface of the bladder as a flat or papillary lesion. Both flat and papillary forms of bladder cancer often can be treated locally. Close clinical follow-up is necessary, however, as both forms can recur and occasionally invade.
Invasive bladder cancer is a less common, but more aggressive, disease. Urothelial carcinoma is the most common type of invasive bladder cancer, but other less common types – including adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and small cell carcinoma – exist. The depth of invasion into the bladder wall and type of tumor present, both of which are determined by the pathologist who examines the specimen, are important in determining what form of treatment is best.
If the presence of widespread local disease or metastatic disease is identified, patients often receive subsequent chemotherapy to control further spread of the disease. The chemotherapeutic regimen is determined after consultation with an oncologist who specializes in bladder cancer.
Cleveland Clinic is one of the largest centers for bladder cancer in the United States . The treatment team, which consists of the urologist, pathologist, and oncologist, sees hundreds of patients with bladder cancer annually. In addition to performing diagnostic and clinical services, Cleveland Clinic also is a major center for innovative research on bladder cancer is the site of new cancer clinical trials to treat local and advanced disease.
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