Ureteral Cancer
Ureteral cancer is cancer of the ureters, muscular tubes that propel urine from the kidneys to the urinary bladder. It is also known as ureter cancer, renal pelvic cancer, and rarely ureteric cancer or uretal cancer. Cancer in this location is rare.
Ureteral cancer is usually transitional cell carcinoma. Transitional cell carcinoma is "a common cause of ureter cancer and other urinary (renal pelvic) tract cancers."
Symptoms
Symptoms of ureteral cancer may include "blood in the urine (hematuria); diminished urine stream and straining to void (caused by urethral stricture); frequent urination and increased nighttime urination (nocturia); hardening of tissue in the perineum, labia, or penis; itching; incontinence; pain during or after sexual intercourse (dyspareunia); painful urination (dysuria); recurrent urinary tract infection; urethral discharge and swelling".
Risk factors
Tobacco smoking is associated with an increased risk of ureteral cancer.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis may include a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test, computed tomography urography (CTU), magnetic resonance urography (MRU), intravenous pyelography (IVP) x-ray, ureteroscopy, or biopsy.
Treatment
Treatment methods include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and medication.
Epidemiology
Between 1988 and 2001 in the United States, cancer surveillance reports to SEER included 1,333 cases of ureteral cancer in adults: 808 male and 525 female, 1,158 white and 42 black. Of the total, 1,251 (94%) were transitional cell carcinoma of the papillary type. "Five-year relative survival rates from cancers of the ureter were similar among males vs. females..."
See also
- Ureteral neoplasm, a type of tumor that can be primary, or associated with a metastasis from another site
- Urethral cancer, cancer of the urethra
- Urothelium, the tissue layer that lines much of the urinary tract, including the renal pelvis, the ureters, the bladder, and parts of the urethra