Bladder Cancer

Overview

Bladder cancer, which is caused by the uncontrolled growth of cells in the urinary bladder, affects an estimated 700,000 people in the United States.¹ Every year, approximately 80,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed.²

While bladder cancer is the cause of about 17,000 deaths each year, the 5-year survival rate for those diagnosed has improved to approximately 80%.² Prognosis for patients with bladder cancer is largely dependent on the progression of the disease. Therefore, detecting bladder cancer while it is in its early stages is essential.¹

Who is at risk?

Smokers and those who are regularly exposed to industrial chemicals such as beauticians and textile factory workers are at an increased risk of developing bladder cancer.³

Factors such as age, sex, and race also play a role. The average age of a bladder cancer patient is 68 years.⁴ Caucasians are twice as likely to be diagnosed with bladder cancer than non-Caucasians, while men are 4 times more likely to develop bladder cancer than women.⁵ Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men and the sixth most common type of cancer overall.

Signs and Symptoms⁶

The main symptoms of bladder cancer may include:

  • Blood in the urine (hematuria)

  • Frequent and/or painful urination

  • Back pain

types of bladder cancer¹

There are 2 main categories of bladder cancer: non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) and muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC).  

Approximately 70% of newly diagnosed bladder cancer cases in the United States are NMIBC, which means the disease has not spread into the muscle layer of the bladder. MIBC indicates that the disease has reached the muscle layer and, as a result, is significantly more challenging to treat. In the United States, MIBC accounts for about 30% of newly diagnosed bladder cancer cases.

Diagnosis and surveillance

Common tests for detecting and diagnosing bladder cancer may include⁷:

  • Urinalysis: A simple test to check a urine sample for blood or other substances

  • Urine cytology: A test that uses a microscope to check a urine sample for abnormal (cancer) cells

  • Urine test for tumor markers: Another type of urine test that checks for tumor markers (substances specifically made by bladder cancer cells)

When bladder cancer is found early, it is considered a highly treatable disease. However, even when bladder cancer is successfully treated, it tends to come back. That’s why healthcare providers monitor people with bladder cancer for years after treatment, conducting screening tests and potentially invasive procedures.⁶ 

The development of accurate assays that can detect and monitor bladder cancer noninvasively through urinalysis would be a major advance, benefiting both patients and healthcare systems.






A breakthrough assay for bladder cancer

Oncuria® is a highly-accurate urine-based multiplex immunoassay being developed by Nonagen Bioscience. 


 
 

References: 1. Saginala K, Barsouk A, Aluru JS, Rawla P, Padala SA, Barsouk A. Epidemiology of bladder cancer. Med Sci (Basel). 2020;8(1):15. doi:10.3390/medsci8010015 2. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Fuchs HE, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2022. CA Cancer J Clin. 2022;72(1):7-33. doi:10.3322/caac.21708 3. Ghadimi T, Gheitasi B, Nili S, Karimi M, Ghaderi E. Occupation, smoking, opium, and bladder cancer: a case-control study. South Asian J Cancer. 2015;4(3):111-114. doi:10.4103/2278-330X.173174 4. Cancer Facts & Figures 2022. American Cancer Society; 2022. 5. Rosiello G, Palumbo C, Deuker M, et al. Racial differences in the distribution of bladder cancer metastases: a population-based analysis. Cent European J Urol. 2020;73(4):407-415. doi:10.5173/ceju.2020.0269 6. Referenced with permission from the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Bladder Cancer V.1.2022. © National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Inc. 2021. All rights reserved. Accessed April 28, 2022. To view the most recent and complete version of the guideline, go to NCCN.org. 7. Bladder cancer. American Cancer Society. Accessed April 28, 2022. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/bladder-cancer.html