Bladder Cancer

Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow out of control. When cancer starts in the bladder, it is called bladder cancer.

Bladder cancer is a disease of the urinary tract. The bladder is a hollow organ in the lower abdomen that stores urine, the waste that is produced when the kidneys filter the blood.

The bladder has an elastic and muscular wall that allows it to get larger and smaller as urine is stored or emptied.

Bladder cancer begins in the inside layer of the bladder and grows into the muscle walls. As it moves into the muscle, it requires more aggressive treatment.

Bladder cancer has a high rate of recurrence, estimated at 50% to 80%. Doctors believe this is because the conditions that can lead to bladder cancer impact the entire organ, not just a single spot.

Despite this high rate or recurrence, the disease is treatable, with more than 77% of patients surviving at least five years after diagnosis.

What are bladder cancer types?
There are three types of bladder cancer. Each type is named for the cells that line the wall of your bladder where the cancer started. Bladder cancer types include:

Transitional cell carcinoma: This cancer starts in transitional cells in the inner lining of your bladder wall. About 90% of all bladder cancers are transitional. In this cancer type, abnormal cells spread from the inner lining to other layers deep in your bladder or through your bladder wall into fatty tissues that surround your bladder. This bladder cancer type is also known as urothelial bladder cancer.
Squamous cell carcinoma: Squamous cells are thin, flat cells that line the inside of your bladder. This bladder cancer accounts for about 5% of bladder cancers and typically develops in people who’ve had long bouts of bladder inflammation or irritation.
Adenocarcinoma: Adenocarcinoma cancers are cancers in the glands that line your organs, including your bladder. This is a very rare type of bladder cancer, accounting for 1% to 2% of all bladder cancers.
Small cell carcinoma of the bladder: This extremely rare type of bladder cancer affects about 1,000 people in the U.S.
Sarcoma: Rarely, soft tissue sarcomas start in bladder muscle cells.
Healthcare providers may also categorize bladder cancer as being noninvasive, non-muscle-invasive or muscle-invasive.

Noninvasive: This bladder cancer may be tumors in a small section of tissue or cancer that’s only on or near the surface of your bladder.
Non-muscle-invasive: This refers to bladder cancer that’s moved deeper into your bladder but hasn’t spread to muscle.
Muscle-invasive: This bladder cancer has grown into bladder wall muscle and may have spread into the fatty layers or tissues on organs outside of your bladder.Squamous cell bladder cancer
This type of bladder cancer begins in squamous cells, which are thin, flat cells that may form in the bladder after long-term infection or irritation. These cancers occur less often than urothelial cell cancers.
Adenocarcinoma of the bladder
This disease develops in the inner lining of the bladder and tends to be aggressive.