The average age at time of diagnosis is 65 years. For unknown reasons, men are more frequently afflicted than women. One possible cause could be obstruction of urine by prostatic hyperplasia.
Bladder cancer has different origins.
As early as in 1895, a higher incidence of bladder cancer was observed in workers having contact with aniline dyes. Other industrial carcinogens are various benzidines, chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons, and aldehydes, as are used in the dye, rubber, and textile industries. Remarkable is the long latent phase of 30 - 50 years between contact with the carcinogen and appearance of the disease. It is now known that smokers run a four times higher risk to develop a bladder tumor than nonsmokers. Normally, haematuria is not accompanied by pain.