Patients unaware of link between smoking and bladder cancerJuly 09, 2008Better counseling by physicians is necessary, UMHS study finds ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Even though cigarette smoking accounts for up to half of all bladder cancer cases, few people are aware of the connection - including more than three-quarters of patients who have bladder cancer, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. This knowledge vacuum suggests that urologists and other physicians need to do a much better job of telling patients about the risk of smoking and encourage them to quit, the study authors say. "The general public understands that cigarette smoking can lead to lung cancer, but very few people understand that it also can lead to bladder cancer," says senior author James E. Montie, M.D., Valassis Professor of Urologic Oncology at the U-M Health System. Montie notes that in the first four years after a smoker quits, the risk of developing bladder cancer decreases by 40 percent. The study appears in the July issue of The Journal of Urology. Most patients who already had bladder cancer were, like the general public, unaware of the link between smoking and bladder cancer, the authors say. They cite one study in which only 22 percent of patients with the disease were aware that smoking was a risk factor. "A big gap exists between patient knowledge and their actual risk," says lead author Seth A. Strope, M.D., MPH, clinical lecturer in the U-M Department of Urology. "Our study suggests that physicians must do a much better job of communicating the risk to our patients, and directing them toward smoking cessation programs." In the United States, more than 68,000 new cases of bladder cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year. Bladder cancer is one of the most costly cancers to treat, so the burden of the disease affects not only patients and their families but also the nation's health care financing system. Whites get bladder cancer twice as often as African Americans and Hispanics, and men are two to three times more likely than women to get bladder cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. In addition to smoking, having a family history of the disease also can increase a person's risk of developing bladder cancer. Secondhand smoke, the study notes, may be a risk factor but studies have not determined a conclusive link. University of Michigan Health System |
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| Related Bladder Cancer Current Events and Bladder Cancer News Articles Prediction model superior to traditional criteria in bladder treatment decision A statistical model can accurately predict which patients will have poor outcomes after bladder surgery and can determine the need for chemotherapy. Hopkins scientists find cells responsible for bladder cancer's spread Johns Hopkins scientists have tracked down a powerful set of cells in bladder tumors that seem to be primarily responsible for the cancer's growth and spread using a technique that takes advantage of similarities between tumor and organ growth. Variation in prostate stem cell antigen gene raises bladder cancer risk Researchers have pinpointed a specific gene variation that causes increased risk of urinary bladder cancer, according to a scientific team led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. UT Southwestern researchers investigate high-risk populations for bladder-cancer screenings A new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers sheds light on the challenges involved in identifying which high-risk population would benefit most from bladder-cancer screening. DKK-3 and WIF-1: Proteins related to liver cancer development? Liver cancer is one of the most fatal human malignancies and the third most frequent cause of tumor-related death, about half a million people globally each year. Certain ecologic factors associated with greater risk of bladder cancer Persons drinking well water (as opposed to public supply) may be at an increased risk of bladder cancer, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Researchers will present data about the relationship between bladder cancer and certain ecologic factors including water source and UV radiation levels at the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA). Mayo Clinic researcher says improved detection of bladder tumors reduces cancer recurrence Making tumors inside the bladder fluoresce red under blue light allows physicians to more easily find and remove them, substantially reducing the rate at which these cancers come back, says a Mayo Clinic physician who is presenting results of a large, multicenter international clinical trial. Genetic Variants Predict Recurrence of Bladder Cancer, Patient Survival Scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered genetic variations in the inflammation pathway that reduce the likelihood of recurrence and increase survival of patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) who are treated with mainstream therapy. More intense bladder cancer treatment does not improve survival, U-M study finds Despite enduring more invasive tests and medical procedures, patients who were treated aggressively for early stage bladder cancer had no better survival than patients who were treated less aggressively. New Discovery Raises Doubts About Use of Certain Targeted Therapies in Bladder Cancer Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have found that one of the genes commonly thought to promote the growth and spread of some types of cancers is in fact beneficial in bladder cancer - a major discovery that could significantly alter the way bladder cancers are treated in the future. More Bladder Cancer Current Events and Bladder Cancer News Articles |
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