Bladder Cancer

Cancer of the bladder is diagnosed in more than 70,000 Americans annually. At least three-quarters of these are men. Diagnosis is made by microscopic examination of cells shed from the bladder and passed with the urine, or by visualization of the bladder wall with a cystoscope inserted through the urethra. More than half of bladder cancer cases are diagnosed while the abnormal cells are limited to a surface cell layer, and these may be treated with chemotherapy or immunotherapy directly in the bladder. Surgery is performed in more than 90% of cases.

Role of our laboratory tests

NeoGenomics offers FISH to help diagnose bladder cancer and monitor its recurrence. FISH, or fluorescence in situ hybridization, allows digital or manual scanning of bladder cells for chromosome abnormalities consistent with cancer. Many types of cancers have recurring patterns of chromosome errors that help make the diagnosis. In bladder cancer, the tumor cells frequently have an extra chromosome 3, 7, and/or 17, and they may be missing a small portion of chromosome 9 at position p21. In FISH testing, cells from a urine sample are exposed to DNA probes that attach only to these four areas of interest in the bladder cell chromosomes. Each probe has a different fluorescent color label, depending on its target area. Counting the colored fluorescent signals under the microscope reveals how many cells have which of the four abnormalities, which is then interpreted as being normal or consistent with cancer.

Recent research highlights

Support and information resources

  • Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network
    BCAN is dedicated to increasing awareness of bladder cancer, advancing bladder cancer research, and providing educational and support services for the bladder cancer community.
  • Bladder Cancer WebCafe
    The goal of WebCafe is to present information on current treatment options for bladder cancer in an unbiased way, and to help direct users to further information via the Web on the subjects that concern them.

Clinical Trials

The information presented is for general education and does not represent medical advice. Please discuss all questions and concerns with your medical care team. Links to other websites are provided for convenience and do not represent an endorsement of those sites by NeoGenomics.