26. Urothelial carcinoma of the bladder

Organ: Urinary bladder

Description:

A bladder is cut in the sagittal plane. On the upper half of the bladder can we see that the muscular layer (brownish) and mucosal layer (yellowish) are separated by a relatively clear border and that the mucosal layer is thin.

On the lower half of the bladder is the border less clear, and the mucosal layer is much thicker.

Diagnosis: Urothelial carcinoma

Risk factors:

Smoking

Theory:

Urothelial carcinoma can be present anywhere there is urothelium – the ureter, the urinary bladder, the pyelon. It has a property called polychronotropy, which means that when a urothelial carcinoma tumor is formed the rest of the urothelium in the urinary tract has already mutated and is at a vulnerable stage. Because of this is it common to find multiple tumors of this type simultaneously.

Urothelial carcinoma is actually the second most common cancer in smokers, due to the urothelium’s exposure to toxic components of smoke in the urine.