Malignant damage to the bladder mucosa is called bladder cancer. According to medical statistics over the past 10 years, the incidence of this type of oncology in Russia and the CIS countries has increased 4 times. Men are at particular risk. Without proper diagnosis and timely treatment, the disease is guaranteed to be fatal. However, not everything is as scary as it might seem. In the initial stages, the disease is successfully treated and is associated with longer survival times. It is important to pay attention to the signals of your own body, so as not to miss the moment.
Bladder cancer in men: causes
The causes of bladder cancer in men are not fully understood. The root cause is associated with the mutation mechanism in the cells of the bladder mucosa. Mutations per se can be due to various factors:
• Exposure to toxic substances. So, people employed in industries that use artificial coloring substances, mercury, asbestos and other harmful reagents run the risk of getting sick with a probability twice as high.
• Age. Elderly people are more likely to develop bladder cancer. As a rule, we are talking about people older than 55-60 years.
• Bad habits. One of the main enemies of man is nicotine. Smoking is often the culprit of not only lung cancer, but also bladder cancer. This is due to the fact that the products of nicotine metabolism are excreted in the urine. These toxic substances have a carcinogenic effect and cause genetic mutations.
• kidney disease. Chronic pathologies of the kidneys cause stagnation of urine and adversely affect the walls of the bladder.
• Chronic cystitis. Promotes continuous inflammation of the organ. Damage to the walls of the bladder form the focus of chronic inflammation. The regenerative process may fail at one moment. As a result - a violation of cell division and atypical proliferation of tissues.
• Diseases of the prostate gland. Prostate adenoma, like kidney disease, causes congestion in the bladder.
• Parasitic lesions.
• Papilloma virus infection. Papillomavirus has been shown to have a carcinogenic effect on organs, including the bladder. Of particular danger are toxic waste products of this infectious agent.
Medical science knows that men are 2.5 times more likely to have bladder cancer than women. What it is connected with is not known for certain. It is assumed that there is a relationship between the nature of professional activity and the number of bad habits. In addition, the anatomically excretory system of a man is more complex, and therefore, stagnation of urine is more often observed. Apparently, these causes cause cancer of the bladder in men.
Signs of bladder cancer in men
The main problem in identifying the oncological process is nonspecific signs of bladder cancer (especially in men). We can talk about their complete absence. In this case, the patient is required a fair amount of care, because the first symptoms of bladder cancer in men, although implicit, will be present.
The first symptoms of bladder cancer in men include:
• Pain in the lower abdomen (in the suprapubic region). The intensity of the pain can be different: from slight discomfort to unbearable pains and throbbing pains. When urinating, the discomfort intensifies.
• Desires to urinate. In a healthy man, urination appears 2-6 times a day (with a normal amount of water consumed). A larger number indicates abnormalities in the bladder. A characteristic sign is a false urge, when the amount of urine is clearly inadequate to the strength of the urge.
• Feeling full of the bladder after going to the toilet.
• Sudden interruption of the urination process.
All these signs are found not only and not so much with bladder cancer. More often they indicate an inflammatory process in the body - cystitis. However, these are alarming symptoms: as soon as they occur, you should immediately consult a doctor. This will help preserve health and "strangle" the disease in the bud.
A little later, blood impurities appear in the urine (hematuria). This is a direct indication for an immediate visit to the hospital: hematuria indicates, at a minimum, severe kidney disease or bladder cancer.
These are the first symptoms of bladder cancer in men. Later manifestations are much more characteristic: these are the phenomena of renal failure, intense pain, disturbances in the outflow of urine, the formation of fistulas between the bladder and rectum with the release of its contents through the urethra, etc. At this stage of the disease, it is practically incurable, therefore it is so important to monitor your condition.
Diagnosis of bladder cancer in men
Diagnosis of bladder cancer is not particularly difficult, however, some studies are associated with discomfort. The specialist who deals with the problems of the human excretory system is a urologist. It is with him that the road to identifying the problem begins. With proven oncological changes on the part of the patient’s bladder, an oncourologist takes care of him.
The examination begins with an oral conversation with the doctor. The specialist interviews the patient for complaints, their nature. Based on the initial composition of the picture, the doctor draws up a diagnostic plan.
The first study needed to identify problems in the bladder is a general urine test. With oncology, hematuria is often observed in the analysis. Next comes the turn of instrumental research, namely:
• Ultrasound of the pelvic organs. It allows not only to identify the tumor, its size and location, but also to find out how widespread it is, whether there is germination in neighboring organs and lymph nodes. Perhaps an invasive transurethral ultrasound.
• Urethroscopy. The most informative diagnostic method. It allows you to reliably identify the fact of a neoplasm and, as they say, "without departing from the cash register" to take a sample of tumor tissue for biopsy. The disadvantage of the method is the inability to determine the extent of the tumor.
• In complex and controversial cases, MRI / CT diagnostics are also prescribed with or without contrast. This examination is necessary to study the structure of the tumor and determine its size.
These studies are sufficient to make a diagnosis.
Bladder cancer in men: treatment
At almost any stage of tumor development, treatment methods include three elements: surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy.
The difference lies in the volume of therapy and its nature. So, in the initial stages, a minimally invasive tumor excision operation is practiced. But in this case, the decision is made by the doctor: a cavity operation is possible. The surgeon's task is to excise and remove the tumor as much as possible in order to avoid relapse.
In severe cases, we are talking about a disabling operation to remove the entire bladder, but, fortunately, in the early stages of such radical methods can not speak.
If the tumor gave distant metastases or metastases to the lymph nodes, daughter neoplasms are removed.
Radiation therapy at a dosage of 65-70 Gy improves the prognosis and allows you to more effectively fight cancer.
Together, these methods give excellent results for the treatment of bladder cancer in men. The results are associated with long periods of 5 and 10 year survival. Should make a reservation. 5 and 10 year survival does not mean that the patient will live that much. This is a relapse (i.e., 5 and 10 years without relapse, respectively). After these periods, the patient is considered conditionally recovered.
Bladder Cancer in Men: Prevention
To prevent bladder cancer in men, prevention should come first. It is important to exclude the following factors:
• Smoking. According to the same statistics, the vast majority of patients (almost 95%) smoke.
• Work in hazardous chemical industries. If this is not possible - undergo routine examinations as often as possible.
It is also important to timely treat inflammatory diseases of the kidneys and bladder.
Bladder cancer is a dangerous disease: in advanced stages, it leads to the death of the patient. To prevent this, you need to regularly visit a urologist for preventive examinations and carefully monitor the signals of your own body.
