Key TakeawaysBladder cancer is most common in older men, but anyone can get it.Smoking is the biggest risk factor for bladder cancer because carcinogens in the blood get filtered out and sit in the urinary organ.A major warning sign of bladder cancer is blood in your urine.
Key Takeaways
Bladder cancer is most common in older men, but anyone can get it.Smoking is the biggest risk factor for bladder cancer because carcinogens in the blood get filtered out and sit in the urinary organ.A major warning sign of bladder cancer is blood in your urine.
Bladder cancer is more common in men, but anyone can get it.And if you smoke, your risk is even higher. Here’s how stubbing out a cigarette could protect not only your respiratory system but your urinary health, too.
Why Is Smoking a Big Risk Factor for Bladder Cancer?
It may seem strange that having a cigarette would be so strongly linked to your bladder health, butMarc Bjurlin, DO, associate professor and director of clinical trials at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina, told Verywell that where there’s smoke, there’s cancer.
“When someone smokes, they inhale combustiblecarcinogensthat are filtered through the lungs,” said Bjurlin. “The lung filters that air into the bloodstream, and then the kidneys filter the blood into urine. After that, the urine flows down into your urinary bladder and sits in the bladder for two to four hours until you urinate. Those carcinogens place patients at risk for developing bladder cancer.”
This process also explains why smoking is a major risk factor forkidney cancer, too.Bjurlin said that with both cancers, there can be a “mental disconnect” in terms of understanding risk. People have a hard time linking cigarette use with a part of their body they don’t normally associate with smoking.
Armine Smith, MD, the director of urologic oncology at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Sibley Memorial Hospital, told Verywell that bladder cancer is also linked to environmental contaminants, like those found in the automobile or textile industries, which makes workplace exposures a risk. However, the carcinogens in cigarettes are still the most accessible and prevalent factor.
While the link between smoking and bladder cancer is strong, Smith said it’s still unclear why some smokers develop the cancer and others don’t. We do know that smoking has a cumulative effect that can hang on for years after a person stops smoking and thatsecondhand smokecomes with risks, too.
For people who vape, the links are less clear. Smith and Bjurlin both said that researchers are trying to determine whethervapingcarries the same risk as smoking cigarettes.
What are the Stages of Bladder Cancer?
How Common Is Bladder Cancer?
Bladder cancer may only make up 4% of the cancers in the United States but is the fourth mostcommon cancer in men.Roughly 83,000 new cases of bladder cancer are expected to be diagnosed in 2024, and most of them will be in men over the age of 55.
Bjurlin said that the higher prevalence in men is likely because there are differences in metabolic hormonal pathways that allow cancerous cells to grow faster in men than they would in women.
While the numbers may seem grim, bladder cancer is highly survivable. According to statistics from the National Cancer Institute’s SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) database, bladder cancer (all stages) has a combined five-year outlook of 78%.
There are also several effective treatments for bladder cancer, but as is often the case with cancer in general, success may depend on the type and stage of the disease.
Bjurlin said that there’s a growing movement for immunotherapy in treating advanced muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Two new drugs of this type, Adstiladrin and Anktiva, were recently FDA-approved for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
What Are Warning Signs of Bladder Cancer?
Bjurlin and Smith said the number onewarning sign for bladder canceris blood in your urine. This is especially important for older people to be aware of because most bladder cancer is found after the age of 55 (the average age is 73).
The unusual sight of bloody pee is generally a reliable trigger for someone to make an appointment with their primary care provider, which can be the first step toward a bladder cancer diagnosis. From there, they can be connected to a specialist to confirm the diagnosis, find out what type of bladder cancer they have, and discuss treatment.
If you’re not sure about your risk or haven’t had any warning signs, you can still take proactive steps toquit smoking. Stopping cigarettes can help you avoid many health problems associated with tobacco and even help reduce your chances of getting bladder cancer in your lifetime.
What This Means for You
10 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Cancer Society.Bladder cancer risk factors.American Cancer Society.Key statistics for bladder cancer.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Health effects of cigarette smoking.American Cancer Society.Survival rates for bladder cancer.American Cancer Society.What is bladder cancer?.American Cancer Society.Treatment of bladder cancer based on the stage and other factors.Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves first adenoviral vector-based gene therapy for high-risk Bacillus Calmette-Guérin unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln for BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.American Cancer Society.Immunotherapy for bladder cancer.National Cancer Insitute.What is bladder cancer?.
10 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Cancer Society.Bladder cancer risk factors.American Cancer Society.Key statistics for bladder cancer.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Health effects of cigarette smoking.American Cancer Society.Survival rates for bladder cancer.American Cancer Society.What is bladder cancer?.American Cancer Society.Treatment of bladder cancer based on the stage and other factors.Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves first adenoviral vector-based gene therapy for high-risk Bacillus Calmette-Guérin unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln for BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.American Cancer Society.Immunotherapy for bladder cancer.National Cancer Insitute.What is bladder cancer?.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
American Cancer Society.Bladder cancer risk factors.American Cancer Society.Key statistics for bladder cancer.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Health effects of cigarette smoking.American Cancer Society.Survival rates for bladder cancer.American Cancer Society.What is bladder cancer?.American Cancer Society.Treatment of bladder cancer based on the stage and other factors.Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves first adenoviral vector-based gene therapy for high-risk Bacillus Calmette-Guérin unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln for BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.American Cancer Society.Immunotherapy for bladder cancer.National Cancer Insitute.What is bladder cancer?.
American Cancer Society.Bladder cancer risk factors.
American Cancer Society.Key statistics for bladder cancer.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Health effects of cigarette smoking.
American Cancer Society.Survival rates for bladder cancer.
American Cancer Society.What is bladder cancer?.
American Cancer Society.Treatment of bladder cancer based on the stage and other factors.
Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves first adenoviral vector-based gene therapy for high-risk Bacillus Calmette-Guérin unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
Food and Drug Administration.FDA approves nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln for BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.
American Cancer Society.Immunotherapy for bladder cancer.
National Cancer Insitute.What is bladder cancer?.
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