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BLADDER CANCER TREATMENT
Introduction
For bladder cancer treatment to be a success, it depends on several factors one of which includes
knowing the stage or grade of the malignant tumor. The treatment administered to a patient with
non-muscle invasive (CIS or carcinoma in situ) bladder cancer is quite different from the type of
therapy that will be dispensed to someone with muscle-invasive bladder cancer.
Bladder cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States of America, and its
emergence caused the Food and Drug Administration to approve of the use of immunotherapy as
a treatment option over two decades ago. Bladder cancer is more prevalent among men than it is
for women; more than 75% of new cases of bladder cancer as well as deaths caused by this
disease occur with the men folk. There is no scientific or medical explanation for this gender
selection or difference. The likelihood of recurrence of bladder cancer entails that the patients
suffering from this ailment be kept under surveillance for a long-drawn-out period.
Bladder Cancer: How It Starts
Bladder cancer begins by affecting the epithelium, which is the thin protective layer of tissue on
the lining of the bladder. The mass of tissue then invades the connective tissues as well as the
muscles surrounding it as it increases in size. Advanced cases of bladder cancer reveal the
spreading of the cancerous growth to the pelvic organs or lymph nodes, and some can even
metastasize to distant organs such as the liver, bone or the lungs.
Bladder Cancer Treatment
Almost all the hospitals that treat bladder cancer make use of multidisciplinary teams; these are a
team of specialists who pool resources, research, thoughts and suggestions as to the best way to
treat the ailment. The team usually consists of:
• A urologist (specialist in treating urinary tract diseases)
• A Pathologist (specialist at handling diseased tissues)
• An Oncologist (specialist in chemo- and radiotherapy)
• A radiologist (specialist at using images to detect the presence of disease in tissues)
Patients who have non-invasive bladder cancer will need to undergo a surgical procedure to
remove the tumor and then be given a single dose of intravesical chemotherapy. Patients that
show an improved state of health after the surgery and who exhibit minimal risk of the
progression of the disease may have to go through additional surveillance in case they end up
needing more intravesical chemotherapy.
Patients with the high-grade type of bladder cancer or muscle-invasive cancer may have to
undergo a different treatment process, which may include cystic to my i.e. the surgical removal
of the bladder, although it mostly depends on how far cancer has metastasized.
For more information about bladder cancer treatment, visit http://aadibio.com/