Early bladder cancer symptoms are typically pain during urination, blood in the urine and the frequent need to urinate.  These symptoms are very similar to, and often misdiagnosed as, bladder infection (cystitis).

However, the two conditions do sometimes appear together. Treatment for the bladder infection often reveals the bladder cancer condition.

Bladder tumor symptoms:

• blood in the urine
• painful urination
• frequent or urgent need to urinate

Diagnosis is through a lab exam of urine, x-ray or other imaging techniques.

Prognosis depends on the extent of invasion of the cancer into the bladder wall. Overall survival rates are generally good, especially for cancers with superficial invasion of the bladder wall.

Treatment options are surgical removal of the cancerous tissue or removal of the entire bladder itself. Chemotherapy and radiation are often administered to ensure complete removal of cancerous cells.   Other treatments include immunotherapy and vaccine therapy.

The greatest risk factors identified for bladder cancer are smoking and parasitic bladder infection. Men are more likely to develop bladder cancer than women.