The following are the most important diseases or complications that can be caused by bladder cancer (carcinoma of the bladder): Neoplasms – Tumor Diseases (C00-D48).
- Urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (UTUC, “upper tract urothelial carcinoma”), i.e., of the renal calices and upper ureters
Metastasis by direct infiltration:
- Pelvic/abdominal wall
- Prostate (prostate gland)
- Uterus (uterus)
- Vagina (vagina)
Metastasis
- Brain
- Liver
- Lungs
- Lymph nodes
- Bones
- Peritoneum
Prognostic factors
- Patients with ultra-slow NAT2 genotype (NAT2* 6A/* 6A) have almost twice the risk of recurrence (relapse) as unaffected patients. The detoxification enzyme N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) inactivates carcinogenic (cancer-causing) aromatic amines (from, for example, tobacco smoke, paints and varnishes).
- An expression signature of five genes can be used to distinguish patients with progressive tumors from those with non-progressive tumors: ANXA10, DAB2, HYAL2, SPOCD1, and MAP4K1. Sensitivity (percentage of diseased patients in whom the disease is detected by use of the test, i.e., a positive test result occurs) was 79%, and specificity (probability that actually healthy individuals who do not have the disease in question are also detected as healthy by the test) was 86% (positive predictive value: 90%; negative predictive value: 71%; error rate: 19%; AUC [“area under the curve”] 0.83)
