In the largest study to date of a rare and deadly form of bladder cancer, researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit found radiation therapy may not improve a patient's chances for survival.
While overall survival for adenocarcinoma of the bladder was poor, the study revealed several factors that may improve a patient's prognosis, including being diagnosed at age 60 or younger, and having cystectomy, a procedure that either removes all or a portion of the bladder.
"While this malignancy afflicts just one to 2% of people diagnosed with bladder cancer, chances of surviving it for five years are grim – only 18% – in part because it is usually detected at an advanced stage," said study lead author Naveen Pokala, M.D., an urologist at Henry Ford Hospital. "By the time the primary cancer is found, it may already have penetrated all four walls of the bladder and spread to adjacent organs and beyond, including the peritoneum, lymph nodes, and lungs."
