Europe has some of the highest bladder cancer incidence rates in the world, but knowledge of the disease remains alarmingly low according to a new survey from the European Association of Urology (EAU). The survey, which looked at knowledge about bladder cancer and its key symptoms among European adults, showed that almost 60% of European adults are not familiar with bladder cancer or do not know how serious it can be.
The symptoms are not commonly recognized.
A change in urine color or blood in the urine is usually the first sign of bladder cancer and should prompt an immediate visit to a doctor or health care professional. However, more than half (55%) of respondents did not know that a change in urine color could be an early indication of bladder cancer.
An early diagnosis of bladder cancer can significantly improve treatment outcomes.
One of the most common early signs of bladder cancer is the presence of blood in the urine . According to the survey, 75% of adults do not always check their urine for a color change, and 22% rarely or never check their urine.
Unwillingness to seek medical advice.
The new survey has also shown that adults are unwilling to seek medical advice, even if they noticed symptoms. 20% of participants said they would wait a week or more before talking to a doctor or health professional if they noticed a change in urine color from yellow to orange, pink or red. The most common reason for not seeking medical advice was that people hoped it would get better on its own.
Professor Arnulf Stenzl, elected general secretary of the EAU and head of the urology department at the University Hospital Tübingen (DE), specializing in bladder cancer: “With bladder cancer, detecting it early is crucial, as this translates in better survival rates. Patients diagnosed at stage 1 have an 80% chance of five-year survival, compared to 40% at stage 3.
Our survey results send us a very worrying message that there is an urgent need to increase public education to make people aware of the symptoms of bladder cancer and talk to a specialist such as a urologist. “This will help achieve earlier diagnosis and reduce mortality rates.”
About bladder cancer and Urology Week 2022
Bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Europe and affects more than 200,000 people each year. It is caused by changes in the cells of the bladder and is often related to exposure to certain chemicals. Smoking, for example, has been identified as the single largest risk factor for bladder cancer. Common symptoms are usually related to urine and include blood in the urine, changes in urine color, painful urination, frequent urination, and more.
What is bladder cancer?
Bladder cancer is the growth of abnormal tissue (tumor) in the bladder. There are several stages of bladder cancer. Your treatment and experience will depend on the specific characteristics of the tumor (called "staging" of the tumor) and the experience of your medical team.
This section provides general information about bladder cancer, diagnosis, and various treatment options. Discuss with your doctor what is best for your individual situation.
Bladder function
The urinary bladder (called "the bladder") is the organ that collects and stores urine produced by the kidneys. It is a hollow elastic bag made of muscle tissue that sits over the pelvic floor muscles. The bladder expands as urine accumulates from the kidneys before leaving the body through the urethra.
Stages of the disease
A tumor that grows into the central cavity of the bladder without growing into the muscle tissue of the bladder is called non-muscle invasive. These tumors are superficial and represent an early stage. This is the most common type of bladder cancer. In most cases, these tumors are not aggressive and rarely spread to other organs , so they are not usually lethal, however, they can recur (= recurrence) or develop aggressive features (= progression).
As the cancer grows into the bladder muscle and spreads to the surrounding muscles, it becomes muscle-invasive bladder cancer. This type of cancer is more likely to spread to other parts of the body (metastatic disease) and is more difficult to treat. In some cases, it can be fatal.
If bladder cancer spreads to other parts of the body, such as lymph nodes or other organs, it is called locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. At this stage, a cure is unlikely and treatment is limited to controlling the spread of the disease and reducing symptoms.
Signs and symptoms of bladder cancer
Blood in the urine (hematuria) is the most common symptom when there is a bladder tumor. Tumors in the lining of the bladder (that do not invade the muscles) do not cause bladder pain and usually do not present with lower urinary tract symptoms (urge to urinate, irritation).
If you have urinary tract symptoms, such as pain when urinating or needing to urinate more frequently, a malignant tumor may be suspected, especially if an infection is ruled out or treated and this does not reduce symptoms. Muscle-invasive bladder cancer can cause symptoms as it grows in the muscle of the bladder and spreads to surrounding muscles.
Symptoms such as pelvic pain, flank pain, weight loss, or the feeling of a mass in the lower abdomen may be present in some cases when the tumors are more advanced.
Animated video: examination of a bladder
When blood is found in the urine, the next step may be to perform a cystoscopy to examine the bladder. This is a procedure in which the doctor looks inside your body with a cystoscope inserted through the urethra.
A cystoscope is a thin tube with a camera and a light on the end. This inside view allows your doctor to look for causes of bleeding or abnormalities of the bladder and its lining. The following video explains the procedure in more detail.
During Urology Week 2022 (September 26-30), the EAU focuses on the importance of early diagnosis by taking the presence of blood in the urine seriously, as it is often the first indicator of bladder cancer. For more information about Urology Week, visit http://urologyweek.org. For more information about bladder cancer, see https://patients.uroweb.org/cancers/bladder-cancer.
