Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about bladder cancer.

And you can find written notes on this topic at zero definals.com slash bladder cancer or in the urology section of the zero definals surgery book.

So let's get straight into it.

Cancer of the bladder arises from the endothelial lining or the urethelium.

The majority are superficial and don't invade the muscle at presentation.

First let's start by talking about the risk factors.

Smoking and increased age are the main risk factors for bladder cancer.

Aromatic amines are worth noting as a carcinogen that causes bladder cancer specifically.

Aromatic amines are used in the dye and rubber industries, but have been

heavily regulated and banned for many years. They're also found in cigarette smoke and seem to be the

reason smoking causes bladder cancer. Shistosomyasis causes squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder,

and this is found in countries with a high prevalence of

this type of infection. A tom tip for you, the typical presentation to look out for in your exams

is a retired, die factory worker with painless hematuria, or painless blood in the urine.

Whenever an exam question mentions a patient's occupation, it's almost

certainly relevant and it will tell you the diagnosis. Di-factory workers get transitional

cell carcinoma of the bladder. Patients with asbestos exposure get mesothelioma affecting

the plura of the lungs. Patients who work outdoors with significant sun exposure get skin cancer.

Next let's talk about the types of bladder cancer.

There's two main types to remember.

The first is transitional cell carcinoma, which accounts for about 90% of cases.

The second is squama cell carcinoma, which accounts for about 90% of cases. The second is squama cell carcinoma, which accounts for about 5% of cases,

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