Early diagnosis and screening

Abstract

Carcinoma of the bladder continues to be a common and serious healthcare problem. In 2001, 56,500 new cases of bladder cancer were diagnosed in the United States, and 12,600 people died of this disease.1 Bladder cancer is the fourth most common solid tumour in men and the eighth most common in women, ranking seventh and tenth, respectively, among causes of cancer death.1 The term 'bladder cancer' encompasses all primary malignancies of the bladder, but transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) is by far the most prevalent and well studied, and for these reasons is the focus of this chapter. © 2007 Springer-Verlag London Limited.