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Latest Developments In Bladder Cancer Research

By Eugenia Dickerson


Bladder cancer research activities have been taking place for several years now. A number of studies have already been completed but others are still on-going. Most of the studies have given very useful insights that have helped in the improvement of existing treatments as well as in the creation of newer modalities. The studies have been centred on various disease aspects that have included, among others, the causes, the precipitating factors, prevalence and incidence.

It has been shown through research that a number of risk factors for the condition exist. Smoking accounts for about 38% and 34% of cases in men and women respectively. This is according to a study that was published in the United Kingdom in the year 2010. Smokers are four times likely to suffer from the condition as compared to non-smokers according to the study. The risk is highest in long term smokers and the heavy smokers.

Occupational exposure is another huge risk factor for persons that work in dye industries. The earliest case to be reported was way back in 1895 in Europe. It was not until the 1950s that these findings were confirmed. The cause-effect relationship between aromatic amines and cancer has been demonstrated in many other places all over the world. Naphthylamine and benzidine are the most notorious of the amines.

Besides the aromatic amines, there are a number of other medicines, medical procedures and conditions that have been shown to increase the risk. Phenacetin and cyclophosphamide are some of the well known carcinogens. The medical procedure that causes the highest risk is irradiation of the pelvic organs which is often required in treatment of testicular cancer and cervical cancer. In some studies, the risk has been shown to be increased up to 6 times.

Positron emission tomography or PET is one of the modern investigative methods that have been developed. In this treatment, images of internal organs are easily visualised and the site of disease identified. Typically a radioactive substance is injected into the body and through the blood stream it is absorbed by virtually all organs. Cancerous cells absorb more than other cells. A special scanner is then used to identify these cells.

The incidence and the prevalence are both high in many places all over the world. There is some variation depending on geographical location, gender and ethnicity. Statistics from the UK show that it accounts for about 5% of male cancers and 2% in females. It is eleventh commonest in females and seventh commonest in males. In terms of incidence, about 10, 000 new cases were seen in 2010 of which the majority affected males.

Statistics on mortality are not encouraging. In the United Kingdom about 3000 male patients succumb every year while about 1500 women suffer the same fate. The mortality rate is highest among the advanced age groups. The encouraging thing is that the figure has gone done greatly over the last several decades.

Bladder cancer research is one of the most effective ways of getting solutions to this problem. Many new treatments have been discovered thanks to the numerous research efforts. At the same time ways of preventing the condition have also been formulated. The most important thing is to support the stalled and unpublished studies to be completed.




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