Bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is the fifth most common neoplasm and the twelfth leading cause of cancer death. Males are affected three times more frequently than women. Numerous chemicals are suspected bladder cancer forming agents, however, only cigarette smoking and occupational exposure to a certain class of organic chemicals called aromatic amines are well-established risk factors. At diagnosis about 75% of patients have superficial bladder cancer and 25% have invasive or metastatic disease. Although superficial bladder tumors tend to recur frequently, most of recurrent tumors stay in the superficial areas. However, 5-30% of superficial tumors progress to invasive disease. Invasive tumors have a higher risk to metastasize. For untreated metastatic disease, the 2-year survival rate is less than 5%. There are many treatment options for bladder cancer patients, some have long been in use, some are still considered experimental. Each case is unique, and there are many factors to consider before deci...