What tests are done to check the bladder?

The bladder is a relatively important organ in the body. Its main function is to store urine. If there is a problem with the bladder, it will have a great impact on health. The most common ones are cystitis or bladder cancer. When there is a problem with the bladder, you must go to the hospital for corresponding examinations in time. There are many methods of examination, such as routine urine examination, cystoscopy, B-ultrasound examination, etc., which are all common examination methods.

What tests are done to check the bladder?

For patients over 40 years of age who present with painless macroscopic hematuria, the possibility of urinary tract tumors, particularly bladder cancer, should be considered. A preliminary diagnosis is made based on the patient's medical history, family history, symptoms and physical examination, and further relevant examinations are performed. Examination methods include routine urine examination, urine exfoliative cytology, urine tumor markers, abdominal and pelvic B-ultrasound, etc. Based on the above examination results, it is decided whether to perform cystoscopy, intravenous urography, pelvic CT and/or pelvic MRI to confirm the diagnosis. Among them, cystoscopy is the main method for diagnosing bladder cancer.

Prognosis and prevention

Reducing environmental and occupational exposures may reduce the risk of developing urothelial carcinoma. About 70% of patients relapse after transurethral resection. Postoperative intravesical instillation of BCG or chemotherapy drugs can reduce the recurrence rate to 25% to 40%. Commonly used intravenous chemotherapy drugs include mitomycin, doxorubicin, thiotepa, hydroxycamptothecin, etc. The 5-year survival rate of patients with invasive bladder cancer after total cystectomy is 60% to 70%.

treat

Bladder urothelial carcinoma is divided into non-muscle invasive urothelial carcinoma and muscle invasive urothelial carcinoma. Patients with non-muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma usually undergo transurethral resection of bladder tumors, followed by intravesical instillation to prevent recurrence. Patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma and bladder squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma are usually treated with total cystectomy, and some patients can be treated with partial cystectomy.

Patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma can also first undergo neoadjuvant chemotherapy + surgical treatment. Metastatic bladder cancer is mainly treated with chemotherapy. Commonly used chemotherapy regimens include M-VAP (methotrexate + vinblastine + doxorubicin + cisplatin), GC (gemcitabine + cisplatin) and MVP (methotrexate + vinblastine + cisplatin). The efficacy of chemotherapy is 40% to 65%.