Urologic cancers include cancers of the bladder, kidney, prostate and testicles, all relatively common. Prostate cancer, for example, is the most common cancer in American men. One out of every 10 men will develop the disease at some time in his life most often after age 50.Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer among men and the ninth most common among women in the United States. Each year, more than 50,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed.

The Center has unique expertise in managing rare urologic cancers, such as cancers of the penis, urethra, adrenal gland, and genitourinary sarcomas, and salvage procedures for recurrent cancers of the bladder and prostate that have failed initial therapy with radiation or other treatments.

There are four main types of urologic cancers:

• Bladder cancer

  grows mainly in the lining of the bladder. It affects nearly 71,000 men and women in the United States each year.

• Renal (kidney) cancer

  affects more than 49,000 men and women in the U.S. each year. This cancer can be within the kidney itself. Or, more rarely, it can affect the part of the kidney that connects to the bladder (renal pelvis cancer).

• Testicular cancer

  grows within the testes. It affects less than 1 percent of men. Doctors diagnose about 8,400 men per year.

• Urethral cancer

  forms in the urethra — the tube that conducts urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. In men, the urethra travels through the penis and also carries semen. Urethral cancer is rare. Men are more at risk than women.

Urologic Cancers Treatment

Our kidneys work ceaselessly to filter out waste from the blood, producing urine. The urine then travels through the urinary tract a group of organs that work together to drain urine from the body. These organs grow cells that help to process and transport the urine. But occasionally, something will go wrong. A change in the DNA (known as a mutation) can cause abnormal cells to grow along the urinary tract, forming a cancerous tumor.
Cancers of the urinary tract (or urologic cancers) may be linked to environmental, lifestyle, genetic and other factors. Over the years, methods for detecting and treating urologic cancers have improved, and patients are now offered a range of options to suit their goals and needs.