Giedrius Šėmys¹
¹ Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
Abstract
Bladder cancer is one of the most common oncological diseases worldwide, characterized by its high rates of recurrence. It is particularly important to diagnose this condition at an early stage.
Aim: to review the scientific literature on the epidemiology, risk factors, diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.
Methods: literature review was done based on scientific articles from PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane and UpToDate databases.
Conclusions: 1. Bladder cancer is most frequently diagnosed in males over 65 and is most prevalent in developed regions of the world. 2. Adjustable risk factors have the greatest impact on developing bladder cancer, such as tobacco smoking and workplace carcinogen exposure. 3. Bladder cancer usually presents with macrohaematuria and such patients should be evaluated for a possible malignancy without delay. Laboratory testing, invasive tests, imaging and histopathology may aid in confirming the diagnosis. 4. Treatment of choice for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer is transurethral resection of the tumor and intravesical chemotherapy. Muscle-invasive disease is treated by radical cystectomy and neoadjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy.
Keywords: bladder cancer, epidemiology, risk factors, cystoscopy, transurethral resection, intravesical chemotherapy, radical cystectomy.