Know Your Bladder Cancer Risk

Know Your Bladder Cancer Risk
By Eric Berlin, MD | Medically reviewed by Pat F. Bass III, MD, MS
Learn about the risk factors associated with bladder cancer and what you can do to lessen them.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), 1 in every 27 men will eventually develop bladder cancer; the lifetime risk of a woman developing bladder cancer is 1 in 85.

The risk of bladder cancer increases with age; approximately 90 percent of people with bladder cancer are 55 or older. While no one knows for sure why some people get bladder cancer and others don’t, there are some factors that may put you at increased risk.

Of course, having one or more bladder cancer risk factors doesn’t mean you're automatically going to get bladder cancer. And some patients with bladder cancer may have had no risk factors. But risk factors are like warning signs, so pay attention to them and keep yourself as healthy as possible.

Know the Risk Factors for Bladder Cancer

There are some risk factors for bladder cancer that you can’t change, like family history, but it makes sense to eliminate the ones you have control over, like smoking:

- Smoking. According to the ACS, smoking is the most serious risk factor for developing bladder cancer. People who smoke are at double to triple the risk of developing bladder cancer compared to people who do not smoke. It is believed that the chemicals smokers inhale enter the body, are ultimately filtered by the kidneys, added to the urine, and then deposited in the bladder. These chemicals may injure the cells that form the lining of the bladder and thereby increase the risk of bladder cancer.
- Race. White people have the highest risk of getting bladder cancer — twice that of African-Americans and Hispanics. Asians have the lowest risk.
- Gender. A man’s chance of getting bladder cancer is four times greater than a woman’s.
- Family history. Having a family member with bladder cancer increases your risk.
- Personal history. If you have had bladder cancer in the past, your risk for getting it again is increased. Having cancer in other parts of the urinary tract (kidneys, ureters, and urethra) may put you at risk for bladder cancer, too. Read more