The stage of cancer describes the measure of cancer and whether it has spread. Understanding the stages is necessary to determine the treatment you need. Just like how a dental professional can help determine the status of care your oral health may need if you are suffering from oral cancer. The same care and attention is needed if you are suffering from recurring urinary tract infections or disorders in the lower abdomen region. Keep reading to learn more about bladder cancer stages and their different treatment options.

Understanding Bladder Cancer

The bladder is the hollow organ in the lower portion of the abdomen. It acts as a reservoir for urine until the urine is released from the body through the urethra.

There are various types of bladder cancer. The type of cancer cell can be temporary or transitional cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, or adenocarcinoma. These terms are named after the types of cells that line the bladder wall where the issues start.

Over 90% of bladder cancers originate from the transitional cells, which involve the deepest lining of the bladder wall. In some cases, the cancers attack into the more profound layers of the bladder, the thick muscle surface of the bladder. Also, this cancer can invade the fatty tissue of the bladder wall.

On the other hand, squamous cells carcinoma makes up around 5% of bladder cancer. Usually, they are fine-level cells that border the urethra. They can shape in the bladder after long episodes of bladder irritation or inflammation.

Lastly, adenocarcinoma is a highly uncommon kind of bladder cancer that starts in epithelial cells in the coating of the bladder. Just 1% to 2% of bladder cancer is adenocarcinoma.

Signs and Symptoms That Cancer Has Spread In The Lining of the Bladder

Some manifestations of bladder cancer are also side effects of other conditions. Sometimes, your issues with your vision may indicate this health complication related to your kidneys and bladder. Most of the time, blood in the urine is the standard warning sign. Also, frequent urination, pain during urination, or trouble urinating are other indications.

TNM Staging System

One device that doctors use to portray the stage is the TNM system. They use the results from diagnostic tests and scans to identify the location of cancer. Just like how your doctor checks your mouth when you need to diagnose mouth issues (just click on this link for more information), a specialist can detect the issue with the bladder by doing imaging and biopsy. In any case, here are the three critical pieces of information to describe how far the disease has spread:

T for Tumor

The doctor checks the tumor by measuring how far the primary tumor develops through the bladder and if cancer has spread into neighboring tissues.

N for Lymph Nodes

Lymph nodes contain immune cells that help fight diseases. Doctors use “N” to describe if cancer has spread into lymph nodes close to the bladder.

M for Metastasized

Also, doctors use “M” to express whether cancer has spread into lymph nodes or organs that are not close to the bladder.

Your specialist doctor will generally appoint a number after the letter. The higher the number, the more the disease has spread. Once the doctor determines your TNM staging, they will use this info to identify the stage of your cancer.

The Main Stages of Bladder Cancer

Stage 0 Bladder Cancer

This stage implies that cancer only develops into the center of your bladder, meaning it has not spread into the muscle or tissue of your bladder wall itself. Cancer in this stage also has not spread to your lymph nodes or other organs, either.

Stage I Bladder Cancer

In this stage, cancer develops through the inner lining of the bladder. However, it does not expand into the bladder wall muscle, lymph nodes, or other distant organs.

Stage II Bladder Cancer

This stage describes that cancer has spread to the connective tissue and muscle of the bladder.

Stage III Bladder Cancer

In this stage, cancer is currently in the layer of fatty tissue that encompasses your bladder. Cancer may also spread outside the bladder, such as in your uterus, vagina, or prostate. However, cancer has not spread to nearby lymph nodes or to distant organs.

Stage IV Bladder Cancer

Stage IV is the most progressive type of bladder cancer, known as metastatic. This implies cancer has spread to distant lymph nodes or different parts of the body. Cancer that has spread beyond the bladder into the abdomen or pelvis wall is also viewed as Stage IV.

Individuals with bladder cancer of all stages may have the option to join in clinical trials. These are research studies that examine new treatments to check how well they help.

Bladder Cancer Grades

Additionally, bladder cancer can be characterized by low-grade or high-grade tumors. The grade describes how the cells appear under a microscope.

Low-grade bladder cancer cells are similar in appearance to typical cells. They generally spread more gradually and are more averse to attacking the bladder’s muscle wall than high-grade cancers.
On the other hand, high-grade bladder cancer seems abnormal, evolves more rapidly, and probably spreads.

Treatment Options For Bladder Cancer

There are four kinds of treatments for patients with bladder cancer. Sometimes, doctors use combinations of these procedures to treat your condition.

Surgical Options

Surgical treatment is a common way to treat bladder cancer. Just like how dental surgery may also be performed if oral health problems contribute to this disease. Nevertheless, the kind of surgery will rely upon the stage of cancer. Standard surgical options include:

Transurethral resection of the bladder is a treatment used to address early-stage disease.
Partial cystectomy is a procedure that removes a section of the bladder.
Last, radical cystectomy is used to treat more extensive cancers and those spread beyond the bladder. This procedure completely removes the bladder.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is a procedure that uses drugs to stop or slow the development of rapidly multiplying cells. Cancer cells consume chemotherapy drugs quicker compared to normal cells. However, all the cells in the body are presented to the chemotherapy drug. In any case, you can get this treatment intravenously or intravesically, depending on the cancer stage.

Intravesical Therapy

Your doctor may treat your bladder cancer using chemotherapy or intravesical immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy uses the body’s own immune system to assault the disease cells. The doctor commonly uses an immunization called Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for this reason in the intravesical procedure of stages T1, Ta, or carcinoma limited to the bladder’s inner lining.

Usually, doctors give intravesical BCG once a week for six weeks, yet sometimes long-term maintenance therapy is necessary. Another treatment option is intravesical chemotherapy with mitomycin C.

Since the doctor gives chemotherapy straightforwardly into the bladder, other cells in the body are not exposed, which decreases the chances for side effects from the treatment. Your doctor may likewise give it as a single dose after the removal of the tumor.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation harms the DNA of cancer cells by attacking them with high-energy X-rays or other forms of radiation. It could be an option in contrast to surgery or utilized with a surgical procedure or chemotherapy. In any case, your doctor can externally or internally perform radiation therapy.

In an external procedure, your doctor uses a machine outside the body that directs the radiation source at the tumor. While internal radiation therapy, your doctor will insert a radioactive pellet into the bladder through the urethra or a cut in the lower abdomen. This technique is usually not applicable for bladder cancer. Nevertheless, internal radiation requires a hospital stay throughout the process, which can be a few days before the doctor removes the pellet from your body.

References:

Anatomy of the Bladder.

https://www.columbiaurology.org/staywell/anatomy-bladder

Blood in Urine (Hematuria) Causes, Treatments, and Symptoms.

https://www.kidneyfund.org/kidney-disease/kidney-problems/blood-in-urine.html

Anatomy, Abdomen and Pelvis, Bladder Detrusor Muscle.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK482181/

Chemotherapy.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/chemotherapy/about/pac-20385033

How Radiation Therapy Is Used to Treat Cancer.

https://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatments-and-side-effects/treatment-types/radiation/basics.html