TURP

TURP

Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the epithelial lining (i.e., the urothelium) of the urinary bladder. Rarely the bladder is involved by non-epithelial cancers, such as lymphoma or sarcoma, but these are not ordinarily included in the colloquial term "bladder cancer." It is a disease in which abnormal cells multiply without control in the bladder.

Signs and symptoms

Bladder cancer is any of several types of cancer arising from the epithelial lining (i.e., the urothelium) of the urinary bladder. Rarely the bladder is involved by non-epithelial cancers, such as lymphoma or sarcoma, but these are not ordinarily included in the colloquial term "bladder cancer." It is a disease in which abnormal cells multiply without control in the bladder.

Other possible symptoms include pain during urination, frequent urination, or feeling the need to urinate without being able to do so. These signs and symptoms are not specific to bladder cancer, and are also caused by non-cancerous conditions, including prostate infections, over-active bladder and cystitis. There are many other causes of hematuria, such as bladder or ureteric stones, infection, kidney disease, kidney cancers and vascular malformations.

Patients with advanced disease refer pelvic or bony pain, lower-extremity edema, or flank pain. Rarely a palpable mass can be detected on physical examination.

The treatment of bladder cancer depends on how deep the tumor invades into the bladder wall. Superficial tumors (those not entering the muscle layer) can be "shaved off" using an electrocautery device attached to a cystoscope, which in that case is called a resectoscope. The procedure is called transurethral resection of bladder tumor—TURBT—and serves primarily for pathological staging. In case of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer the TURBT is in itself the treatment, but in case of muscle invasive cancer, the procedure is insufficient for final treatment.