Bladder cancer affects male smokers more, but does not spare women either

He cancer of bladdermuch less known than the prostate canceris more common in smokers and men, but can also affect women, specialists warn.

“This cancer, relatively common and sometimes aggressive, is too little known,” says Benjamin Pradère, member of the oncology committee of the French association of urology (AFU), promoter of the ““bladder month.”

In France it affects between 13,000 and 20,000 additional people each year, mainly men over 60 years of age, and causes around 5,000 deaths.

In the absence of a valid screening method, warning signs are crucial.

“Red urine, I consult!” exhorts the motto of the awareness campaign, referring to the most frequent symptom.

Repeated cystitis – without infection detected during the search for microbes – or urination disorders can also warn.

Bladder cancer“It affects men more often, but is usually more serious in women, since the symptoms can be misinterpreted and delay the diagnosis.”highlights Pradère.

This was the case of Catherine, 51 years old. “After a bypass (bariatric surgery) she often had blood in her urine. The doctor thought she was related to the operation. She sent me to see a gynecologist who thought of micromenstruations because he had an IUD,” she explains to AFP.

“I continued like this until the contractions and constant pressure on the bladder started. Then I returned to the gynecologist who ordered an ultrasound, always based on his hypothesis of micromenstruations or urinary infections.as,” Catherine continues.

“After a year I couldn’t avoid going to the bathroom. An MRI finally showed a large mass in the bladder.”remembers this Alsatian.

Then everything came together. “Eight hours of operation to remove the mass and the announcement of an infiltrating cancer. Then came the removal of the bladder, uterus and lymph nodes, followed by chemotherapy and immunotherapy,” details.

Smoking and pollutants

The old nanny, who doesn’t know “when or where” will be able to go back to work “some day”no longer has the same pace of life due to the presence of the bag (to replace the bladder) and, “It is not safe from a leak, that is why I carry spare clothing and protection”describes.

“A little physical effort causes cramps in the belly,” adds Catherine who advises “especially women, consult when there is the slightest doubt.”

Approximately “a quarter of the patients are women and their proportion is increasing,” according to the president of the association of Bladder Cancer patients in France, Lori Cirefice.

Tobacco occupies first place in the risk factors. The body expels toxins present in the blood through urine, which are stored in the bladder before evacuation.

“This link between smoking and bladder cancer is unknown.””says Cirefice.

In Europe the incidence of this cancer has increased in recent years, “not only due to an increase in detections, but also in smokers,” according to Pradère.

“Young patients come to the clinic after having been exposed to carcinogens due to the consumption of cannabis sometimes mixed with tires or cement,” underlines surgeon Yann Neuzillet.

“Certain exposures – such as rubber, dyes, paints, cosmetics, some hydrocarbons and pesticides in large agricultural regions – can lead to bladder cancers.”highlights the president of the AFU.

Although these carcinogens are less present in the workplace than 20 or 30 years ago, people exposed in the past are still at risk.

“They told me my cancer could come from smoking, but I also worked in a lot of factories – aluminum wheels, baby wipes, cereal, car heating and air conditioning – so we will never know.””, Catherine lists.

There are several therapeutic innovations, including immunotherapy, which consists of strengthening the body’s defenses against the disease.

In patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer, antibodies directed at certain molecules on cancer cells (“drug conjugate antibodies”) also show promise in combination with chemotherapy and immunotherapy, according to recent studies.

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