Bladder cancer, one in 5 patients discover it by chance

Getting ahead isn’t always easy with bladder cancer. There is no mass screening and in order to arrive at an early diagnosis it is important not to underestimate the warning signs, such as the presence of blood in the urine. This is why 21% of patients discover the disease during medical checks for other health problems and only 37% are diagnosed with obvious symptoms, such as hematuria. On the other hand, 24% identify the neoplasm after tests carried out on the advice of the family doctor. The data come from an online survey carried out among 347 patients by the Italian Society of Uro-Oncology (SIUrO) and were presented during the “Bladder Cancer” webinar, broadcast on the Facebook page of the scientific society, which once a month hosts talk shows with SIUrO experts.

Bladder cancer affects over 25,000 men and women in our country every year. There are categories of people, such as those who work closely with particular chemical agents, as well as smokers who have smoked at least ten cigarettes a day for over 10 years, who must keep the situation under control with specific tests. “Our survey shows that 83% of sufferers smoked when they found out they had cancer. For all other potential patients, careful monitoring of symptoms is necessary, primarily the presence of blood in the urine which must always be reported to the doctor ”, said Renzo Colombo, Vice President of SIUrO. “Hematuria does not automatically involve the presence of a tumor and for this reason those who suffer from it must undergo a visit with the urologist specialist as soon as possible”.

In the SIUrO webinar, ample space was dedicated to the treatments available for patients and specialists. “Eight out of ten patients are alive five years after diagnosis also thanks to the new therapies – underlined Patrizia Giannatempo, oncologist at the National Cancer Institute in Milan -. There are several weapons with which we can defeat an insidious tumor and which we often have to treat at an advanced stage. As for the drugs we use those chemotherapy with cytotoxic action or immunotherapics that are able to reactivate and strengthen our immune system. Sometimes we can use both categories of medicines in combination. Over 90% of patients claim to have experienced side effects that impacted their quality of life. Nausea, vomiting, fatigue and general malaise are the most frequent.

It should be remembered that in recent years, also thanks to the introduction of support drugs, we are increasingly able to control these contraindications “. “The role of radiotherapy is also fundamental – declared Barbara Jereczek, Director of the Radiotherapy Division of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan and Lecturer at the University of Milan -. In the treatment of bladder cancer it is mainly used in the trimodal treatment, i.e. in combination with chemotherapy drugs after partial surgery. The fundamental objective that in selected cases we often manage to achieve is the preservation of the organ. Therefore, the choice of treatments, as well as the entire treatment path for the patient, must be evaluated by a multidisciplinary team. Thanks to the teamwork of urologists, oncologists, radiotherapists and pathologists, we can guarantee better assistance ”.