Eyecare Tips

More Women Fall Ill With Bladder Cancer Than With Cervical Cancer

June 16, 2017

Urinary bladder cancer is more likely to be fatal in women than in men. With a male-to-female incidence ratio of approximately three to one, for women, the disease becomes fatal at a much earlier stage. The relative five-year survival rate for women is 72%(1) - corresponding to a ten-year survival rate for men. One of the reasons for the lower survival rate in women is inadequate early detection. On average, bladder cancer in women is diagnosed six to nine months later than in men(2).

"Bladder cancer is not as rare in women as you might think. Every year more women fall ill with cancer of the urinary bladder than with cervical cancer", Dr Gerson Lüdecke, Urologist at the Department of Urology and Paediatric Urology, University Hospital Giessen explains. With the primary symptoms of bladder cancer being haematuria, pain, dysuria and frequent urge to urinate, women with bladder cancer are often first treated for cystitis. A late diagnosis of urinary bladder cancer can mean the difference between whether the disease is still curable or whether the patients' survival time is significantly decreased. "Bladder cancer can be treated successfully if it is recognised in time", explains Dr Lüdecke.

Dr Lüdecke advocates early examination for at risk patients including: smokers, industrial and construction workers, lorry drivers, firemen, printing workers and barbers/hairdressers. Screening can be performed with a simple proteomic test of a urine sample, such as the NMP22®BladderChek™ test from Inverness Medical, directly in the clinicians office. The NMP22 BladderChek urine test is the only tumour marker that has been approved by the FDA for the diagnosis of at risk patients and for the after care of patients with bladder cancer. For patients, this means that a reliable test is available that has been comprehensively tested in clinical trials. Dr Alistair Grey of St. Bartholomew´s and Homerton Hospitals, London presented the high specificity (93%) and sensitivity (71%) data on 19 March 2009 at the 24th Conference of the European Association of Urology (EAU) in Stockholm(3).

Dr Lüdecke has developed the online self assessment, "RiskCheck", at www.riskcheck-bladder-cancer, to identify and encourage at risk patients to seek screening for bladder cancer. The questionnaire, could identify those women and at risk patients who could benefit from screening with a new non-invasive diagnostic test for the tumour marker NMP22.

1. Lüdecke G: Frauenarzt 2009;50(2):150-156.

2. National Cancer Institute: Priorities of the Kidney/Bladder Cancers Progress Review Group. planningncer/pdfprgreports/2002kidneyreport.pdf (3. März 2009)

3. Turner B, Grey A, Pati J: Sensitivity and Specificity of NMP22 in Detecting Urothelial Cancer in Haematuria Patients. 24th EAU Congress, Stockholm 2009; Poster 424 und Vortrag Alistair Grey, 19. März 2009.

Source
Inverness Medical