Bladder cancer
What is bladder cancer? Find out how common it is, the causes, and expert advice on how to reduce your risk.
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What is bladder cancer?
The bladder is in the pelvis behind the pubic bone and it collects urine produced by the kidneys. It’s a sac-like organ that can stretch to hold about 500ml of urine. When we empty our bladder, the muscle in its walls contracts and urine passes from the bladder into a short tube called the urethra, which carries urine out of the body.
Bladder cancer commonly starts as an abnormal growth in the lining of the bladder. A cancerous tumour can sometimes spread into the muscle of the bladder wall.
How common is bladder cancer?
Bladder cancer is the 9th most common cancer in the UK (2021 data), and the 9th most common in the world (2022 data).
Men
Bladder cancer is the 5th most common cancer in men in the UK, and the 6th most common in men globally.
Women
Bladder cancer is the 13th most common cancer in women in the UK, and the 17th most common in women globally.
| Region | Cases | Year |
|---|---|---|
| UK | 11,026 | 2021 |
| World | 614,298 | 2022 |
What are the signs and symptoms of bladder cancer?
Blood in your urine is the most common symptom of bladder cancer.
Find more information on bladder cancer symptoms on the NHS website.
What causes bladder cancer?
There are many different things that affect your risk of bladder cancer.
Evidence for what can cause bladder cancer comes from large population studies (called epidemiology) and biological studies (where scientists look at cells in a laboratory).
If the risk factors below affect you, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you will develop bladder cancer.
Smoking
The risk of bladder cancer is 2 to 6 times higher in smokers than in non-smokers.
Arsenic
Drinking water containing arsenic increases the risk of bladder cancer. Agricultural, mining and industrial practices can contaminate water with arsenic. Arsenic can also occur naturally due to geological deposits or volcanic activity.
Arsenic in drinking water has been identified in large areas of Bangladesh, China and West Bengal (India).
Occupational exposure
People who work with metalworking fluids – such as sheet metalworkers and machine operators – have a significantly higher risk of bladder cancer, which increases the longer they work there.
Exposure to chemicals used in the plastic and chemical industries also increases the risk of bladder cancer.
Infection and infestation
Infection from a parasitic worm is a major risk factor for a rare type of bladder cancer that occurs mainly in countries with high parasitic infection rates, in Africa and the Middle East.
Gender
Men are more than 4 times more likely to develop bladder cancer than women.
Age
Older people are more at risk of developing bladder cancer.
Other risk factors
Our Expert Panel of scientists has also looked at other things that may be linked with the risk of bladder cancer. The evidence for the risk factors listed below is limited, and we do not recommend that you change your behaviour only on the basis of these risk factors. There is some evidence that:
- greater consumption of vegetables and fruit may decrease the risk of bladder cancer. Although the evidence for this is limited, we still recommend a diet rich in wholegrains, fruit, vegetables and beans because of the many health benefits.
- greater consumption of tea may decrease the risk of bladder cancer.
For scientists: full references, pathogenesis and a summary of the mechanisms underpinning our findings on how to prevent bladder cancer can be found in our 2018 bladder cancer report.
Reduce your risk of bladder cancer
Following our Cancer Prevention Recommendations reduces your risk of bladder cancer. If you have been diagnosed with cancer, following our Recommendations can reduce the risk of cancer returning.
Don’t smoke
You can reduce your risk of bladder cancer by not smoking. If you do smoke, giving up smoking will reduce your risk.
In the UK, the NHS stop smoking service can help you quit.
Bladder cancer survival
Our Living with cancer section can help if you are living with bladder cancer.
