PURPOSE: BLADDER CANCER IS THE MOST COMMON CANCER OF THE URINARY TRACT. WE PERFORMED AN EPIDEMIOLOGIC EVALUATION OF BLADDER CANCER IN GILAN PROVINCE.
MATERIALS & METHODS: FROM 1994 TO 1998, 270 PATIENTS WERE ENTERED INTO THE STUDY. OF THE PATIENTS 226 (83.7%) WERE MALE AND 44 (16.2%) WERE FEMALE. MOST OF THE PATIENTS WERE BETWEEN 66 TO 69 YEARS OF AGE.
RESULTS: THE MALE–FEMALE RATIO FOR BLADDER CANCER WAS 5.1: 1. THE AVERAGE AGE AT DIAGNOSIS WAS 62.3 YEARS. OF THE PATIENTS, 194 (71.8%) WERE CIGARETTE SMOKERS. OF THE PATIENTS, 228 (88.4%) PRESENTED WITH HEMATURIA. OF 270 PATIENTS, 216 (80%) HAD TRANSITIONAL CELL CARCINOMAS (TCC), 12 (4.4%) ADENO CARCINOMAS, 8 (2.9%) SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMAS (SCC) AND 8 (2.9%) HAD MIXED TUMORS.
CONCLUSIONS: COMPARING WITH OTHER STUDIES, THERE WERE NO STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES IN INCIDENCE OF T.C.C. PRESENTING FEATURES AND AGE AT THE DIAGNOSIS, BUT IN THE MALE–FEMALE RATIO AND THE INCIDENCE OF OTHER CANCERS (ADENOCAECINOMAS SCC AND MIXED CANCERS), THERE WERE SOME DIFFERENCES. ADDITIONAL STUDIES TO DETERMINE THE RELATION BETWEEN BLADDER CANCERS AND AGRICULTURE IS RECOMMENDED. IRRITATIVE OR OBSTRUCTIVE SYMPTOMS WITHOUT HEMATURIA SHOULD BE NOTIFIED IN PATIENTS WITH BLADDER CANCER.