Part UT Health San Antonio

The purpose of screening is to find and treat diseases early. They are given to people who may be at high risk, but who don’t have problems.

Screening Guidelines

There are no standard tests for bladder cancer screening. You and your doctor will talk about what makes your risk higher and how to make changes. Those with a higher risk of bladder cancer are:

  • Heavy smokers
  • People who work in certain jobs that expose them to known cancer-causing agents
  • People who have had bladder cancer in the past
  • People with certain structural problems that have been there since birth

Tests for those with high risk:

  • Urine tests to look for blood or abnormal cells
  • Cystoscopy to look for tumors or changes in the cellular structure of the bladder wall

Talk to your doctor about your bladder cancer risk and any tests you may need.

REFERENCES:

Bladder cancer. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at:http://www.dynamed.com/topics/dmp~AN~T115106/Bladder-cancer. Updated June 26, 2018. Accessed August 3, 2018.

Can bladder cancer be found early? American Cancer Society website. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/bladder-cancer/detection-diagnosis-staging/detection.html. Updated May 23, 2016. Accessed August 3, 2018.

Screening for bladder and other urothelial cancers. National Cancer Institute website. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder/patient/bladder-screening-pdq#section/_38. Updated March 9, 2018. Accessed August 3, 2018.

Last reviewed May 2018 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Mohei Abouzied, MD, FACP  Last Updated: 8/3/2018