Diagnosis and Treatment of Urethral Cancer

Urethral cancer is a rare cancer that occurs in the cells that line the urethra, and accounts for less than 0.1% of all genitourinary (kidney, bladder, penis, prostate, testicles) cancers. The urethra is 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.

Types of Urethral Cancer

The type of cancer will depend on which cells the cancer arises in (squamous, carcinoma, transitional, or adenocarcinoma), and the location of the cancer (whether it is closer to the bladder or closer to the outside of the body). 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.

Risk Factors for Urethral Cancer
Although all of the causes of urethral cancer are not known, the disease sometimes occurs in patients who also have bladder cancer.

Stanford Expertise

When you are being treated for cancer you want a physician who is familiar with your particular disease. However, because urethral cancer is rare it can be difficult to find a doctor who has treated many patients.

As a world-renown center, the Stanford Cancer Center attracts patients with rare cancers, and thus our physicians are more likely to have experience with urethral cancer than doctors at most other hospitals. You can be assured that you will be offered state-of-the-art alternatives for surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy that will take into consideration your age, sex, health, and preferences for diagnosis and therapies.

In addition, your Stanford specialists will discuss with you options for maintaining fertility and for reconstructive surgery if necessary.