New tests for bladder cancer may lead to improved diagnosis of the disease, which is completely curable when discovered in its early stages. Dr. Seth Lerner, an assistant professor of urology at Baylor College of Medicine, said three urine sample tests have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the detection of bladder cancer. Lerner said two of the new tests will be part of a screening program held during National Bladder Health Week Nov. 15-19 at the Urology Institute at The Methodist Hospital. More than 50,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed each year.
Men are three times more likely than women to develop the disease.
Individuals most at risk are cigarette smokers and those who have been exposed to certain organic chemicals in the workplace. Long-range studies have determined that exposure to these chemicals, also called aromatic amines, could result in bladder cancer 20 to 25 years later. Urologists are frequently first consulted because of blood in the urine. Although the presence of blood is often seen in bladder cancer, it also is a symptom of many other benign or non-cancerous conditions. The standard evaluation for bladder cancer includes a cystoscopy, in which a thin telescope-like instrument is inserted into the urethra and passed into the bladder to examine the lining.