Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Benefits Of Bladder Cancer Research

By Eugenia Dickerson


Bladder cancer research has helped in understanding various aspects of the condition. This has helped in developing more effective treatment modalities over the years. Areas of interest have included, precipitating factors, causative agents and epidemiological characteristics as regards disease burden. Research activities have been carried out in numerous countries all over the world in a bid to establish geographical variations or similarities in disease manifestations.

It has been shown through research that a number of risk factors for the condition exist. Smoking accounts for about 38% and 34% of cases in men and women respectively. This is according to a study that was published in the United Kingdom in the year 2010. Smokers are four times likely to suffer from the condition as compared to non-smokers according to the study. The risk is highest in long term smokers and the heavy smokers.

Occupational exposure is another huge risk factor for persons that work in dye industries. The earliest case to be reported was way back in 1895 in Europe. It was not until the 1950s that these findings were confirmed. The cause-effect relationship between aromatic amines and cancer has been demonstrated in many other places all over the world. Naphthylamine and benzidine are the most notorious of the amines.

Apart from aromatic amines a number of other carcinogens have been discovered. The chemotherapeutic agent cyclophosphamide and phenacetin are examples. Medical procedures such as irradiation of the pelvic region also contribute to some extent. Such irradiation may be required as a therapeutic measure for cervical or testicular cancers. For women that have undergone radiotherapy 40 or more years previously, the risk is about 6 times greater than it is in the general population

Positron emission tomography or PET is one of the modern investigative methods that have been developed. In this treatment, images of internal organs are easily visualised and the site of disease identified. Typically a radioactive substance is injected into the body and through the blood stream it is absorbed by virtually all organs. Cancerous cells absorb more than other cells. A special scanner is then used to identify these cells.

The prevalence and incidence vary from one geographical location to another. They are also influenced by gender and ethnicity. In the UK, 5% of cancers are those of the bladder and in females this figure is at 2%. This makes it the seventh most common among males and eleventh most common among female patients. In 2010 close to 10,000 new cases were reported.

The mortality rate is still high in many places. In the UK, statistics indicate that about 3000 men and 1500 women die every year. Majority of these patients are those that fall in the advanced age groups due to the aggressive nature of the disease. Fortunately the general trend has been a gradual decrease in these rates over the last few decades.

Bladder cancer research has been a very important step towards finding a solution to this problem. It has led to the development of newer treatment techniques and better preventive measures. The important thing is to ensure that unpublished studies are identified and published. Those that are not completed for one reason or another should be brought to completion.




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