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An individual is said to be suffering from invasive bladder cancer when the bladder cancer is at the T2 or T3 stage. Typically in T2 invasive bladder cancer the cancer cells would have spread from the lining of the inner walls of the bladder to the muscular layer of the bladder. On the other hand T3 invasive bladder cancer is when the cancer has grown through the muscle layer as well, increasing the risk of the cancer then spreading to other parts of the body.

Symptoms

Invasive bladder cancer symptoms are similar to those that are observed in bladder cancer that may be in the mid stages. These include:

• Blood in the urine which is also known as hematuria is one of the most common invasive bladder cancer symptoms. An individual suffering from invasive bladder cancer may find their urine to be dark red or blood colored and it may even have the presence of clots.
• Additionally, individuals suffering from invasive bladder cancer tend to also feel the urge to urinate very often and many a time the quantity of urine is also very less.
• Both men and women who are diagnosed with invasive bladder cancer will also find that they tend to develop urinary tract infections very often and they may also complain of chronic abdominal or back pain.
• Another one of the symptoms of invasive bladder cancer is experiencing pain or a burning sensation during urination.

In cases where in the invasive bladder cancer has spread to other parts of the body the individual may also experience weight loss, anemia, pain in the pelvic or rectal area as well as swelling or pain in the lower legs and around the kidneys.

Treatment

Typically in case of invasive bladder cancer since the cancer has spread to the muscle layer of the bladder, the oncologist will recommend one of the below mentioned invasive bladder cancer treatment options:

• Radiotherapy: One of the reasons why radiotherapy is recommended as a treatment option for invasive bladder cancer is that although the bladder has shrunk, the entire bladder does not have to be removed.
• Surgery: Depending on the extent to which the invasive bladder cancer has spread the surgeon may recommend removing part of or the entire bladder. If the entire bladder is removed for treating the invasive cancer then another surgery may be required to create a new bladder or to install a waterproof bag into the individual's abdomen to collect the urine produced by the kidneys.
• Radiotherapy as well as chemotherapy.

Many a times while treating invasive bladder cancer, it has been observed that administering chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the same time helps. This treatment option is found to be more effective than radiation alone being given. This treatment for invasive bladder cancer is known as concurrent chemoradiation.

Prognosis

The prognosis for individuals diagnosed with bladder cancer depends on certain factors such as the individual's age and overall health status, stage at which the bladder cancer was diagnosed as well as the type of bladder cancer cells. Typically, superficial bladder cancer is known to have an 85% survival rate whereas the prognosis for invasive bladder cancer is not so favorable. Studies have shown that 5% of individuals diagnosed with invasive bladder cancer are known to survive for two years post diagnosis of the cancer. On the other hand the invasive bladder cancer survival rate in case of cancer that has recurred is an indication of a poor prognosis on account of the aggressive tumor in the area.

References

• http://cancerhelp.cancerresearchuk.org/type/bladder-cancer/treatment/invasive/