Bladder cancer
What is bladder cancer?
Bladder cancer most often begins in the cells that line the inside of the bladder.1 In the early stages, cancer cells are only found in the inner lining of the bladder, but as the disease progresses they can spread into or through the muscle layer of the bladder. This is called muscle invasive bladder cancer.2
Urothelial carcinoma is the most common type of bladder cancer, accounting for approximately 90% of cases in the UK.3
There are also rarer types of bladder cancer including:1
- Squamous cell carcinoma
- Adenocarcinoma
- Small cell carcinoma
- Sarcoma
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Prevalence of bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is the 11th most common cancer in the UK (2017 – 2019).4 More men than women are diagnosed with the disease, with 73% of cases occurring in males.5
Bladder cancer prevalence4
Signs and symptoms of bladder cancer
The most common symptom of bladder cancer is blood in the urine, 80% of people with bladder cancer experience this.6 However, there are some other common symptoms to be aware of:7
Bladder cancer symptoms7
References
1 American Cancer Society. What Is Bladder Cancer? Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/bladder-cancer/about/what-is-bladder-cancer.html
Last accessed: March 2025
2 National Cancer Institute. Bladder Cancer Stages. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder/stages.
Last accessed: March 2025
3 Leslie SW, Soon-Sutton TL, Aeddula NR. Bladder Cancer. [Updated 2024 Aug 15]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK536923/
Last accessed: March 2025
4 Cancer Research UK. Bladder cancer statistics. Available at https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/bladder-cancer#heading-Zero
Last accessed: March 2025
5 Cancer Research UK. Bladder cancer incidence statistics. Available at: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/statistics-by-cancer-type/bladder-cancer/incidence#heading-Zero.
Last accessed: March 2025
6 Jakus D, et al. The Impact of the Initial Clinical Presentation of Bladder Cancer on Histopathological and Morphological Tumor Characteristics. J Clin Med. 2023 Jun 25;12(13):4259.
Last accessed: March 2025
7 National Cancer Institute. Bladder Cancer Symptoms. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder/symptoms.
Last accessed: March 2025
8 National Cancer Institute. Bladder Cancer Treatment. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder/treatment.
Last accessed: March 2025
March 2025 | ONC-GB-2500011