Bladder Tumors: More Common in Men

Basic facts about bladder tumors
A bladder tumor is an excessive reproduction of cells that line the bladder. Most tumors are noncancerous called papillomas, a wart like growth. Cancerous bladder tumors can spread through the bladder wall and into other organs via the blood stream.

Bladder tumors are three times more common in men than in women.

Bladder tumors are most common in white men aged over 50 years.

Less than 1 percent of cases of bladder cancer occur in people under 40 years old

Bladder tumors are the second most common tumor that can occur in the reproductive and urinary tract. (The most common is a prostate tumor).

Tumors of the lining of the bladder cause about 4% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States.

Bladder tumors can be cancerous or noncancerous (benign).

Causes of bladder tumors
Causes of bladder tumors include;
Exposure to carcinogenic chemicals, that is, chemicals that are known to cause cancer. These include chemicals used in the rubber and dye industries.
Smoking tobacco.
Chronic urinary tract infections.
Schistosomiasis, a parasitic infection common in the tropics.
Signs and symptoms of bladder tumors
The signs and symptoms of bladder tumors can include the following;
Blood in the urine. This symptom is very common in bladder cancer.
A feeling that you urgently need to pass urine.
You may need to pass urine more frequently. You often pass smaller amounts of urine.
Back or abdominal pain.
Most bladder tumors are painless.
Appetite loss.
Weight loss.

Signs and symptoms can and do vary depending on the type of bladder tumor, size and spread of the disease.