What is Bladder Cancer?
Bladder cancer occurs when there are abnormal, cancerous cells growing in the bladder, a triangle-shaped, hollow organ located in the lower abdomen which stores urine.
According to the American Cancer Society, about 69,250 new cases of bladder were diagnosed in 2011. Men are about three times more likely to get bladder cancer during their lifetime than women, and Caucasians are more likely to get bladder cancer than African Americans, Hispanics or Asians.
At Stanford, our Genitourinary Urologic Cancer physicians have extensive experience in treating early-stage to rare bladder cancers, and offer advanced treatment options in a supportive environment.
Types
There are several types of bladder cancer, including:
- transitional cell (urothelial) carcinoma
Transitional cell carcinoma begins in the cells lining the inside of the bladder. Transitional cells also line the other parts of the urinary tract, including the kidneys, ureters, and urethra. Transitional cell carcinoma is the most common kind of bladder cancer, occurring in about 90 percent of cases. - squamous cell carcinoma
Squamous cell carcinoma begins in squamous cells - thin, flat cells found in the tissue that form the surface of the skin, the lining of the hollow organs of the body, and the passages of the respiratory and digestive tracts. About 4 percent of bladder cancers are squamous cell carcinomas. - adenocarcinoma
Adenocarcinoma is cancer that begins in the cells of glandular structures lining certain organs in the body. Adenocarcinomas account for only about 2 percent of bladder cancers.
Urethral cancer is a rare cancer that occurs in the cells that line the urethra, the tube through which urine exits the body from the bladder; in women, the urethra measures 1 1/2 inches long and in men, the urethra (passing through the prostate gland and the length of the penis) is about 8 inches long. This disease affects women more often than men.
- Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of urethral cancer. It forms in cells in the part of the urethra near the bladder in women, and in the lining of the urethra in the penis in men.
Anterior urethral cancer is when the cancer is closest to the outside of the body, and posterior urethral cancer is when the cancer is closest to the bladder.
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