Bladder Cancer News Archives

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Updates from American Urology Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago in April 2009

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

 

Diet and Bladder Cancer – Yogurt and Selenium

Monday, March 30th, 2009

Yogurt? Selenium? Can they affect bladder cancer? Find out about new studies that explore the relationship between bladder cancer, eating yogurt and selenium levels. Read More (from Outlook, BCAN’s Newsletter, Winter 2009)

Firefighters May be at Increased Risk for Bladder Cancer

Monday, May 19th, 2008

Firefighters may be at increased risk for bladder cancer and should be considered for routine annual screening, say University of California, San Francisco, researchers. Link to news story

Eating Vegetables Can Reduce Your Bladder Cancer Risk

Wednesday, December 12th, 2007

A recent study shows that eating broccoli or cabbage three times each month may reduce your risk of developing bladder cancer by 40%.  To learn more, click here.

AUA Releases New Guidelines on Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder

Wednesday, December 12th, 2007

The American Urological Association (AUA) recently published new guidelines on the treatment of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.The Guideline reviews a number of current treatments and reaches conclusions on issues such as immunotherapy versus chemotherapy for low risk disease, the need for repeat resections, and maintenance BCG therapy.  For more details, click here.

RESEARCHERS FIND BROCCOLI PREVENTS OR SLOWS BLADDER CANCER

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

Researchers at Ohio State University believe that consumption of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and kale, may help prevent or slow the progression of bladder cancer. The researchers hypothesized this effect and confirmed it in laboratory experiments using compounds found in cruciferous vegetables. Interestingly, the compounds had the strongest effect on the most aggressive forms of bladder cancer cells. The researchers presented their findings at the July 18, 2005 annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists, held in New Orleans. The full text of this announcement may be found by clicking here.

In a separate but related report, Discover Magazine, in its January, 2005 issue, listed the finding that “Broccoli Kicks Cancer” as one of the top 100 science stories of 2004. In that report, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign isolated a substance called sulforaphane from cruciferous vegetables and conducted in vitro tests against breast cancer cells. Within hours, the cancer cells stopped dividing.  Sulforaphane was found to work by interrupting the cell division process of cancerous cells, while leaving normal cells untouched. The lead researcher, Keith Singletary, cautioned that what happens in the test tube may not be what happens in the body, and that further research is needed.

NSAIDs may protect against bladder cancer

Wednesday, August 29th, 2007

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), especially aspirin, may decrease the risk of bladder cancer, particularly more advanced, high-grade tumors containing alterations in the tumor suppressor protein TP53, results of a study suggest. For more details click here.

Stopping Smoking Might Reduce Tumor Recurrence in Non-Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer

Thursday, August 16th, 2007

Researchers have found that continued smokers have a 2.2-fold greater risk of bladder cancer recurrence compared to those who quit smoking. They evaluated 265 male patients with Ta or T1 disease some of whom were non-smokers, quitters, and continued smokers. Researchers found that the 3 year recurrence free survival of continued smokers was 45% compared to the 70% for quitters. For more details, click here.

Improved Outcomes with Higher Volumes for Radical Cystectomy

Wednesday, August 15th, 2007

According to an online publication in the Journal of Urology patients with bladder cancer who undergo surgery to remove their bladder have improved outcomes if they receive treatment at a medical center where large volumes of these procedures are performed. Researchers at Vanderbilt recently conducted a clinical study of 6,728 patients with bladder cancer who had undergone a radical cystectomy and found that the mortality rate for patients undergoing the surgery was .54% for those treated in a facility performing more than 50 radical cystectomies per year, compared with 2.7% for those treated in a facility performing 10 or less procedures per year. For more details, click here.

DNA in Urine May Detect Bladdder Cancer

Tuesday, July 24th, 2007

According to an article recently published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, testing a small number of genes in a urine sample may help detect bladder cancer.  While these results need further confirmation, such testing may provide a non-invasive, effective method to screen for bladder cancer.

Patients who have undergone initial treatment for non-invasive bladder cancer often receive follow-up cystoscopies to detect a recurrence.  During a cystoscopy, a doctor places a lighted tube into the bladder to search for abnormal areas of tissue that indicate cancer.  As an invasive procedure, cystoscopy has its limitations.  Physicians also rely on urine cytology to detect bladder cancer.  However, urine cytology is not always accurate. Researchers are exploring tests that are less invasive than cystoscopy and more accurate than urinary cytology.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins recently conducted a clinical study to evaluate the accuracy of detecting bladder cancer by testing a small number of genes from a urine sample.  This study included 175 patients with all different stages of bladder cancer and 94 patients without bladder cancer.  DNA from urine samples was tested to find a small number (panel) of genes with properties that indicated the presence of bladder cancer.  82% of bladder cancers were identified from testing of the gene panel, and 96% of the tests that were positive for bladder cancer were accurate in the diagnosis. The researchers concluded that the testing of this specific panel of genes within a urine sample identities the presence of bladder cancer with high accuracy compared to standard testing.  Further testing of this gene panel is required to confirm its accuracy and potential use in a clinical setting.  For more details, please click here.

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