General Facts About Bladder And Kidney Cancer

The prevalence of cancer continues to increase by the day. This increase has been attributed mainly to better diagnostic techniques. Bladder and kidney cancer are some of the commonest malignancies. Of all the bladder cancer cases that are seen in hospitals, 75% affect men. However, the prognosis is usually worse in women. The incidence increases with increasing age and the median age is about 68 years. As relates to racial differences, whites are affected more commonly while blacks tend to have worse outcomes.

Several predisposing factors have been identified. Cigarette smoking has featured prominently with some studies concluding that smokers are four times likely to contract bladder malignancies as compared to non-smokers. Some of the harmful chemicals found in cigarettes include naphthalene, nitrosamine and aminobiphenyl. Other significant factors include exposure to radiation, aromatic amines and the intake of some sweeteners such as saccharin and cyclamate.

The cause of renal tumors remains largely unknown. It has been shown through research that genetic mutations play a major role. At the same time, there are several factors that either predispose to or aggravate the condition. These include obesity, hypertension, smoking, older age and several inherited syndromes.

Typically, patients will not have any symptoms in early stages. The passage of bloody urine is the first symptom reported by many of the patients. In the case of renal tumors there may be additional complaints that include generalized fatigue, weight loss and back pain.

Several investigative tests are needed to get a definitive diagnosis. Renal function tests and urinalysis are easy to perform and serve a screening function. CT scans and MRI are used to locate the tumor and to stage. When metastasis is suspected, other imaging studies such as radionuclide imaging will be required. Taking a biopsy specimen for histological examination remains the gold standard of diagnosis.

The tumors are classified under two broad categories; invasive disease and non-invasive disease. As the name suggest, non-invasive disease is the type in which the disease is superficial and underlying structures have not been affected. It has better outcomes. In invasive disease, there is involvement of the entire organ and surrounding tissues in some cases. Subtypes include adenocarcinoma, squamous adenocarcinoma and primary lymphomas.

The staging of cancers is important as it used in choosing the type of treatment modality to be used. Staging involves the assessment of a disease to establish how far it has spread. Tumors that have spread beyond the organ are usually much advanced. Grading is also done to determine how badly the constituent cells have been damaged. The techniques used for staging and grading differ depending on the type of tumor.

Tumors that are classified as being low grade are treated with chemotherapy and surgery. The type of operation that is done is termed transurethral resection (TURB). The tumor is removed through the urethral opening. Chemotherapy may be initiated to kill any residual tumor cells. High grade tumors are often managed with chemotherapy. They have a high likelihood of recurrence. Renal tumors are treated by radiotherapy and surgery depending on the severity of disease.

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