The conditions that can favor the appearance of bladder tumor are:
- Smoking;
- Occupational exposure to gasoline, dyes or paint;
- Radiation therapy to other pelvic organs (prostate, cervix, colon ecc.)
- Genetic predisposition
Bladder tumor most often presents with hematuria (blood in the urine without discomfort when urinating). When this happens, a visit with the urologist specialist who can schedule some tests is necessary:
- Renal, bladder, prostatic ultrasound: used to visualize the urinary system in a non-invasive way
- Urinary cytology: investigates the presence of malignant cells in the urine
- Cystoscopy: consists of visualizing with a camera the bladder walls and urethra
- CT scan urography: radiological test that allows a very accurate assessment of the urinary tract, lymph nodes and other adjacent organs.
When a bladder tumor is diagnosed, it is important to specify whether the cancer has a low grade or a high degree of malignancy. Low-grade tumors are usually limited to the superficial layers of the bladder but tend to recur (recur). High-grade tumors can also reproduce again, but the characteristic that makes them fearsome is the ability to invade deep layers of the bladder (infiltrating bladder tumor) and send tumor cells to other organs (metastasize).
The treatment of a superficial bladder tumor (low or high grade) consists of its resection by transurescopic route, that is, without the need for a surgical incision.
The treatment of infiltrating bladder tumor consists, on the other hand, in the excision of the entire bladder and lymph nodes. When the bladder is removed, it is necessary to build a new pathway for the body to store and eliminate urine: this is possible by making a “new bladder” with a part of the intestine (urinary neobladder) or by creating an external pouch (extracorporeal urinary diversion).