Tobacco, the leading risk factor for bladder cancer

To mark Bladder Cancer Awareness Month, the French Association of Urology (AFU) and the patient association Bladder Cancer France have launched an information campaign on this cancer. According to the AFU, active smoking is the primary risk factor for the development of this cancer, responsible for approximately 5,000 deaths per year in France. The AFU[1] and Bladder Cancer France intend to raise awareness of the early warning signs of the disease to obtain a diagnosis as quickly as possible. The most common symptom of bladder cancer is the presence of blood in the urine. Other symptoms include the need to urinate more frequently or more urgently, as well as pain or burning during urination. When diagnosis is late, only one in two patients survives within 5 years. This rate drops to 5% when it has metastasized. In women, symptoms are often misinterpreted, which can delay diagnosis. However, the number of women affected is increasing due to an increase in smoking rates among women in recent decades.[2].

Smoking increases the risk of bladder cancer

Inhaled toxic compounds enter the bloodstream. They are then filtered by the kidneys and end up in the urine. When urine is stored in the bladder, these chemicals come into contact with the bladder wall. Smokers are 5.5 times more likely to develop bladder cancer than non-smokers. Smoking is the most important modifiable factor associated with the risk of bladder cancer. It causes more than one in two bladder cancers in men (53 %) and nearly four in ten in women (39 %). Those most at risk are those who smoke heavily, started young, and continue to smoke for a long time. This cancer affects between 13,000 and 20,000 new people in France, and 5,000 deaths are attributable to it. Quitting smoking is one of the best ways to prevent the development of bladder cancer and other smoking-related diseases. A few years after quitting smoking, the risk of developing bladder cancer drops by about half[3].

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Bladder Cancer Campaign, French Association of Urology, consulted on May 14, 2024 [2] Bladder cancer: beware of tobacco!, Infirmiers.com, published May 7, 2024, accessed May 14, 2024 [3] International Agency for Research on Cancer. IARC Handbooks of Cancer Prevention, Tobacco Control, Vol. 11: Reversal of Risk After Quitting Smoking. Lyon (France); 2007 National Committee Against Smoking |