Note Dr. Norberto Bernardo, medical specialist in urology.
Note that made to the agency Telam.
This Friday is the day in the world of this disease. The experts pointed out that it is the ninth type of cancer in prevalence in both genders, and that it is possible to detect it early with a urine test or an ultrasound.
Incidence of bladder cancer in Argentina
Risk factors and relationship with smoking
Bladder cancer is more frequent in men, largely due to the relationship with smoking. It is estimated that 50% of the diagnosed cases are linked to tobacco use, which increases three times the risk of developing the disease.
Other causes, and environmental factors
Exposure to certain chemicals, such as dyes used in the manufacture of dyes, it also raises the risk of developing bladder cancer. These chemicals irritate the lining of the bladder, increasing the possibility of developing tumors.
“The appearance of blood in the urine is an early sign of alarm as the appearance of blood in a blood test for usual routine” Norberto Bernardo
According to the Global Observatory of Cancer (Globocan), cancer of the bladder occupies the ninth place in Argentina, with 3.785 new cases each year, of which 2.955 correspond to males and 830 females; in addition it is estimated that it is responsible for 1.639 annual deaths.
“The incidence of bladder cancer is more common in men than in women. One out of every 28 men may be suffering from bladder cancer, while in women the statistic is that one out of every 90; in general this it relates to the tobacco habit that occurs most often in men than in women“ said Bernardo, who is also director of the Argentine Center of Urology.
Is that the link between smoking and bladder cancer is increasingly tested: it is estimated that 50% of all diagnosed cases are due to this cause and that a person who smokes has three times more risk of suffering it.
The link between smoking and bladder cancer is increasingly tested: it is estimated that 50% of all diagnosed cases are due to this cause
“The bladder is the organ of the urinary system that is responsible for storing the urine before being eliminated in the urination. Some substances which may irritate the inner lining of the bladder which is called the mucosa predispose to the development of tumors with the passage of time,” he explained
As the bladder is the storage organ of the urine in which it stays for more time with their waste substances “there are habits such as tobacco which increase the incidence of cancer of the bladder and also the people who work with dyes that can be absorbed through the skin as anilines increase the risk,” he said.
As to the form of presentation, the specialist, professor, head of the subject Urology at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), said that “in three of four patients is presented in a non invasive or superficial, is that it is developed without affecting the muscle layer of the bladder; while in 25 percent of cases are presented infiltrating the muscle layer, these are known as " infiltrating”.
By gold hand, clarified that is not the same as prostate cancer. “Prostate cancer, which occurs more often than the bladder, develops in the gland that is located below the bladder surrounding the urethra and is responsible for the production of the semen that is deleted in the ejaculation”he explained.
Regarding the prognosis, indicated that “the transitional cell carcinoma of bladder is curable and depends on early diagnosis and to act in a timely manner; if they acted and use all available resources is curable, but when the diagnosis is delayed, the chances diminish”.
“The transitional cell carcinoma of bladder is curable and depends on early diagnosis and to act promptly
“The survival rate at five years of a patient of bladder cancer depends on the initial stage, that is to say if you agree or not the muscular layer; those that are superficial, that do not affect the muscle layer, have a survival rate at five years old to 95%,” said Bernardo.
In both that “those who commit the muscle layer is significantly reduced depending on make a commitment to regional lymph nodes whose 5-year survival is 35% or you have distant metastases, when decreases to approximately a 7% at 5 years.”
In relation to the treatment, the vast majority consists of endoscopic resection of bladder that can be done in two ways: the transurethral resection conventional, which consists of removing the clouds of the bladder tumor, or transurethral resection block, which is the removal of the tumor as a unit”.
“In those cases that involve the muscle of the bladder is necessary a multidisciplinary approach that includes oncologists, clinicians, urologists, and radiation; in most cases it raises the therapy with chemo-and immunotherapy”, told Telam.
Bernardo said that “targeted therapy is another alternative; it is the erdafitinib, a drug given by mouth, which is approved to treat people with urothelial carcinoma with metastasis or locally advanced with mutations in some genes (FGFR3 or FGFR2) after receiving chemotherapy with platinum. He also explained that it is investigating “who could benefit most from the treatment with erdafitinib”.
Finally, he pointed out that in the cases that you need to remove the bladder (a procedure called cystoprostatectomy, radical), it requires a derivation of the urine, which can be the creation of a new bladder using bowel (neo bladder orthotopic) or a urinary reservoir is extroverted through the skin using a segment of bowel that is a urinary diversion heterotopic.
