US holds Bladder Cancer Awareness week

Newton, Massachusetts - Matritech, Inc. a leading developer of protein-based diagnostic products for the early detection of cancer has joined forces for the second consecutive year with leading urologists, urology nurses, community based healthcare providers, bladder cancer patient advocates, and firefighters to raise awareness of bladder cancer during National Bladder Health Awareness Week, November 12-18, 2006, and urges people who are at risk for bladder cancer to ask their doctor to be tested for the cancer.

Occupational exposures to chemicals (aromatic amines) used in rubber and petroleum products have been associated with increased risk for bladder cancer.

According to the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), the prevalence of bladder cancer in the US has surpassed that of lung cancer. This cancer is linked to smoking and occupational exposure to chemicals, yet if detected early, bladder cancer is very treatable. The risk of bladder cancer may exponentially increase when a person who smokes is also exposed to carcinogens at the workplace.

One of the first signs of bladder cancer is blood in the urine (hematuria). Sometimes the urine appears normal and blood is detected only through a test. Other signs can include painful urination, increased frequency of urination, a feeling of needing to urinate but not being able to do so, and chronic bladder inflammation from recurrent urinary tract infections. While each of these symptoms might have benign causes, the possibility of bladder cancer should not be excluded.

In the absence of screening, one in four bladder cancers is detected when it is already advanced, requiring expensive treatment and has reduced survival. Screening high risk groups offers the potential for detecting cancers earlier, resulting in less extensive and less costly treatments, as well as improved survival. The five year survival rate is 94 percent for patients diagnosed with early stage, or noninvasive cancer, while patients with metastatic or advanced stages of the disease have as low as a 6 percent chance of surviving five years.

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Press release from Matritech