EPIDEMIOLOGY

EPIDEMIOLOGY

 

Bladder Cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy of the urinary tract and the seventh most common

cancer in men and the 17th in women. The worldwide age standardised incidence rate is 9 per 100,000 for men

and 2 per 100,000 for women (2008 data) (1). In the European Union (EU) age standardised incidence rate is 27

per 100, 000 for men and six per 100,000 for women (1).

Incidence varies between regions and countries; in Europe, the highest age standardised incidence

rate has been reported in Spain (41.5 in men and 4.8 in women) and the lowest in Finland (18.1 in men and 4.3

in women) (1). The variations can partly be attributed to different methodology and quality of data collection,

thus warranting care in the interpretation of results (2,3).

The world global age standardised mortality rate is 3 for men versus 1 per 100,000 for women. In the

EU, age standardised mortality rate is 8 for men and 3 per 100,000 for women, respectively (1). In 2008 BC was

the eighth most common cause of cancer-specific mortality in Europe (1).

The incidence of BC has decreased in some registries possibly reflecting decreased impact of

causative agents, mainly smoking and occupational exposure (4). The mortality of BC has also decreased,

possibly reflecting increased standard of care (5).

Approximately 75% of patients with BC present with a disease that is confined to the mucosa (stage

Ta, CIS) or submucosa (stage T1). These categories are grouped as non-muscle-invasive bladder tumours.

Non-muscle invasive BC (NMIBC) has a high prevalence due to low progression rates and long-term survival

in many cases; patients with muscle-invasive BC (MIBC) are at higher risk of cancer-specific mortality (3). The

prevalence of BC is among the highest of all urological malignancies (1).